Student Leadership Team Growth
Kids Greening Taupō Student leadership Team Development
By Rachel Thompson, Thea Depetris, and Victoria Barrett
Rachel Thompson and Victoria Barrett with her display at Greening Taupō Day 2022
An important part of the Kids Greening Taupō programme are the student leadership teams. The way that these are run has changed every year as the programme has grown and evolved. Student leader Victoria Barrett did some research into the history of the teams and how they have changed over the past 7 years to present at Greening Taupō Day 2022 and we thought it would be great to share it here too!
2015 - 2016
In the first team, all of the student leaders were from Waipahihi School, Taupō Primary, and Tauhara College. Only three schools and two kindergartens were involved in Kids Greening Taupō in the early days, as it was a pilot to 'test' the programme in Taupō. It was based on the Kids Restore the Kepler programme based in Te Anau. The student leaders in these early years were chosen by their own schools and met during school time. During this time the leaders’ mahi was very much focused on launching the programme, which led to their involvement in projects like designing the Kids Greening logo and organising a launch party including special guest Sir Jerry Mateparae. The priority was increasing awareness of the programme throughout the community. This involved lots of public presentations, speaking opportunities and media interviews. They were even on the TV3 news!
Sian Moffitt as a student leader with her newly designed logo, Sian later went on to become a KGT coordinator rom 2019-2021
2017
As more schools joined the programme it became increasingly difficult to get the students together during school time, so the student leadership team became extra-curricular, meeting outside of school hours. Students were no longer chosen by their school, instead they had to apply for a position. The leaders were aged 10 - 17 and they came from 8 schools. They began to take on projects such as creating a DOC Kiwi Guardian adventure map at Spa Park, organising and taking part in Whanau Nature Days and publishing videos of their mahi. The students began regularly helping out at the Greening Taupō Community Planting Events and the idea of having their own student-led community planting was soon conceived by the group. This was organised through collaboration with Taupō District Council and the first of these plantings took place in August 2017 at Spa Park.
The Spa Park original planting in 2017 (left) and the same site being shown to the 2022 junior team by the chairperson of the 2022 Senior Leadership Team, Stevie Manunui.
The 2017 Student Leadership Team planning the Spa Park DOC Kiwi Guardian Adventure Map
2021
After many requests from people asking how their keen primary school child could be involved with Kids Greening Taupō, there was the realisation that a junior team was also needed. This meant that for the first time we had two leadership teams and student leaders from age 7-18! By bringing in more younger people, we doubled our number of leaders to 50 and could offer a range of activities and learning opportunities that were developmentally appropriate. The teams met separately, but with an overlap to allow for some bonding and tuakana-teina activities.
The First Junior Student Leadership Team in 2021, 25 students ranged in age from 7-10 and the Senior Leadership Team 2021, 25 Students ranged in age from 11-18
2022
This year there are one hundred students involved in four Kids Greening Taupō leadership teams. Today these teams are organised through student age and specific interest in conservation - along with the Senior Leadership Team, we now have two junior teams (Nature Explorers and Kaitiaki Crew) and our first Predator Free Kids (PFK) Team! The PFK team works with local experts to learn about predator control. After doing some monitoring using tracking tunnels at Spa Park, they made their own trap boxes and have set up a trapline. They also set up night vision cameras with Epro at the Botanical Gardens and have spied lots of possums. The 2022 student leadership programmes focus on developing nature connectedness for the younger children, and then progressively moves towards developing leadership skills with older students.
The first ‘Nature Explorers’ Team 2022, These 28 students range in age from 7-9 and learn about our local environment by getting out and exploring it. This photo is taken at Spa Park at the opening of their ‘Bug Hotel’. The sign was designed by students. KGT planting from prior years can be seen in the background. Coordinators are Tākoha Pitiroi, Alana Delich (volunteer), Rachel Thompson, Heidi Pritchard
The first ‘Kaitiaki Crew’ Team 2022, These 23 students range in age from 10-12 and learn about our local conservation. This photo is taken at Spa Park as they complete the KIwi Guardian adventure created by the team of 2017 and check out the previous teams’ planting sites.
A member of the first Predator Free Kids Team getting advice from local expert, Jason Day
Members of the first Predator Free Kids Team, Pipi Hunter and Elizabeth Hamilton, checking traps at Rotopounamu with Shirley Potter
The student leadership teams meet once a month to learn about conservation and leadership skills, take part in restoration work and connect to their natural environment. They also come along to the 10 community planting days and take on roles such as manning the registration desk, cooking the BBQ, giving planting demonstrations, checking that plants are correctly planted, taking photos, and more.
Lucinda Taylor, Hana Thompson and Taylor Stafford run the registration desk at the first community planting day 2022 at Taupō Golf Club
Lucinda Taylor and Taylor Stafford giving a planting certificate to Leela Thompson Greening Taupō community planting day 2022
Beau Coffin runs the BBQ at a Greening Taupō community planting day 2022
Anahera Shepherd collects pots at a community planting day 2022
We encourage the leaders to take part in wide range opportunities as they arise and support them with conservation projects. For example, they are able to go on a tour of the Crombie Lockwood Kiwi Burrow and learn about Operation Nest Egg. Selected students are able to record radio advertisements with Mediaworks and take part in outdoor courses with NZOIA (New Zealand Outdoors Instructors Association). They hear from conservation experts and sometimes get to work alongside them doing predator control, weeding and maintenance of planting sites, planting, and other mahi. They have a chance to participate in a Blake Virtual Reality workshop, learning about water pollution. Students also get the chance to participate in workshops with experts such as the famous Bug Man Ruud Kleinpaste.
Student leader Jesse King takes part in an outdoor rock climbing course run by NZOIA, 2022
Student leader Maddie MacDonald records a radio commercial with Mediaworks, 2022
Coordinator Rachel Thompson with student leaders, Amelia Frost and Axel Crocker, running a bug hunting activity at Greening Taupō Day 2022 with the famous ‘Bug Man’ Ruud Kleinpaste
The student-led Spa Park Restoration Planting project continues to grow six years on. Every year in August the student leaders hold their event, and with Taupō District Council support, add more native plants to the site. It now stretches from the carpark down the mountain bike track to the river. Last year a pile of rotting logs on site became an official ‘Bug Hotel’ when the student leaders designed a sign to help educate the public on the importance of leaving rotting wood for our invertebrates.
With student leaders now in almost every school in Taupō, Kids Greening Taupō have the ability to easily run student-led projects in the schools. This year the student leaders at St Patrick’s School were able to continue to lead a Taupō District Council planting project in the neighbouring Brentwood Gully. For the third year in a row they liaised with Brent from the council and Greening Taupō coordinator, Robyn, to choose a spot to plant and choose plants to order. They then brought their fellow school students to the gully, one class at a time, showed them how to plant and taught them about restoration. It is fantastic to see our conservation leaders of the future already leading projects in their communities today.
Student leaders from St Patrick's Catholic School explain how to plant correctly to a class from their school at the Brentwood Gully Planting, 2022
Student leaders from St Patrick's Catholic School at the Brentwood Gully Planting, 2022