Balmoral Intermediates Arataki Adventure
Guest Contributor Becca Spalding Shares Balmoral Intermediates Arataki Adventure
The bus stopped and we stared at the forest of totara and kahikatea around us. Three Park rangers came to greet us, Monique, Virginia and Simon. They welcomed us with a karakia and taught us about some history before splitting into three groups.
One of our favourite activities was the bug hunt with Simon. We liked going off trail to catch the bugs, and we enjoyed sucking the bugs up straws, even though we were apprehensive at first. We asked lots of questions, and the explanations were good. Afterwards we released the bugs and looked at baby wētā in the worm farm.
Our next activity was with Monique. We went into an area labelled 'Bush Camp'. Monique welcomed us and told us where to put our bags before transforming into a lady called Mrs. Hawthorne.
Mrs. Hawthorne was a time machine to logging times. She taught us to make kawakawa tea and showed us photographs of logging before turning back into Monique and leading us through five minutes of mindfulness.
Lastly we did pests and planting, with Virginia. We looked at tracking tunnels and rat traps. We really enjoyed the engineering of the traps and setting them off with Rodney the Rat. After that we made compostable plant pots with newspaper, then planted some flax with fresh soil to take home.
Altogether it was a brilliant experience, and we highly recommend it for future field trips.
Our programs inspire and empower young people, guided by qualified educators and park rangers. We offer forest, farm and garden learning for students from years one to 13.
