Date:  27 February 2017

Fun easy activities to teach children about conservation, easy to replicate in your backyard, is the aim of the new Kids Greening Taupō Event Series for young families. 

The series will be launched at the Music in the Reserve Day, on 12 March at the Waipahihi Botanical Gardens, focusing on nature sensory activities ideal for the young.

The launch activities will include exploring New Zealand’s nocturnal creatures in a darkness tent by torch, art with natural resources, eye spy tubes, and getting to know water and land insects by magnifying glass. 

Four further events will follow throughout the year including building homes for insects and learning how to catch predators. Toyota Kiwi Guardian medals can be earnt by the children participating in the activities.

Kids Greening Taupō is a school based programme currently in a pilot with five local education centres. This event series is to respond to the keen community requests from other schools and families eager to get involved.

Co-ordinator for Kids Greening Taupō Thea de Petris is excited, “Getting youth outdoors in nature is the best way to build eco-literate adults. I am passionate about what this series offers our community, to not only enrich our local biodiversity, but to install the love of nature in our young".

Kids Greening Taupō builds on the Greening Taupō community days, and initiatives to plant trees in our own backyards. Robyn Ellis, co-ordinator of Greening Taupō, explains the groups vision, “We want the community to join in planting wildlife corridors of trees which will provide food and shelter for the offspring of wildlife flourishing and overflowing from the predator-proof fenced Wairakei Golf + Sanctuary. Let’s build back rich biodiversity in Taupō for our children together".

DOC community ranger Anna Elwarth explains DOC's support for the vision of Greening Taupō and the family series, “Protecting our nature is a job that’s much bigger than DOC alone, nature lies in the hands of all New Zealanders, and this series engages the hearts, hands and minds of our young to become involved". 

To find out more contact Thea de Petris, Co-ordinator, Kids Greening Taupō.

Contact