Last Friday, eight groups of Year 8 students participated in a two hour event called the Junior School Sustainability Challenge around Long Bay Regional Park. The challenge involved a mixture of running/walking and orienteering as teams use maps to find checkpoints. Teams choose their own path around the course and, as each checkpoint has different point values, teams compete to visit as many checkpoints and get as many points as possible in the time allowed.
At some checkpoints, teams competed in sustainability challenges to get extra points. These involved some extra research and teamwork – such as sorting out rubbish into the correct bins, laying mulch around native trees, learning about native animals and pests and much more. My team collected 3180 points and came 14th out of 63 teams from schools across Auckland.
We all had a very fun and successful day. I think we all appreciated how lucky we are to have such amazing regional parks to enjoy.
Meila Oosterdijk, Year 8
