More than 70 student leaders, parents and link teachers undertook a guided walk through the beautiful Dunedin Town Belt on Sunday 18th February as part of the student led Town Belt Education Initiative. With a welcome from the Mayor, the group undertook an 8.5 kilometre walk from Woodhaugh Gardens to the Southern Cemetery. Along the way the group heard short presentations from a range of experts in history, heritage, biodiversity, ecology and communication.
The Town Belt Education Initiative is a collaborative partnership between the Amenities Society, Department of Conservation, Otakou & Puketeraki Runaka, the Dunedin City Council and schools. The aim of the project is to develop a student led education programme using the Town Belt as backdrop, laboratory and classroom. There are no limitations on the potential of the project in many curriculum areas including science, art, language, history and technology. The walk on Sunday was to give students and teachers inspiration and ideas about how the Town Belt can be part of their learning. It is also an opportunity for students to show leadership and to become the future stewards of this very special place in Dunedin.
A great deal of credit in the running of this project must go to Claudia Babirat, who has the task of coordinating the various aspects of this project together for the Society and its partners. As more schools come on board with the initiative we hope that the project will grow and we will see new and exciting developments evolve from the students. (Click on the pictures to view in a larger format)
