Main Collage - Year 9 and 10’s propagating, planting, and maintaining their gardens. Year 11’s also maintaining their gardens, growing food, mulching, field trips to a local dairy farm and Hawke Bay primary-based industries, and a very successful hands-on predator control course. Year 12’s focus more on career skills with tool and small engines maintenance, erecting electric fences, animal handling skills and so on. The focus is making everything we do, relevant, hands-on and FUN!

Covid has severely limited the field trip opportunities for Land Based Studies students. PapaTaiao Earthcare proposed a two day Predator Control course to be held at the Waiotapu Forest Camp. 15 Year 11 students took up the opportunity to learn about the different predators that exist, the different methods of trapping and dispatching these animals.

The students made their own tunnel kill traps and upon returning home, they put their learning into practice in their own back yards. We can all practice kaitiaki of our environment.

The students relished being on camp together, participating in hands on learning with a balance of assessment. All 15 students achieved the 14 credits available to them. This was a positive experience for our students. See photos below.