Not Always Sunshine and Rainbows

Oaklynn School Planting Day at Craigavon Park

Sometimes the best days outdoors are the muddy ones.

On Thursday 4 June, seventeen young adults from Oaklynn Special School spent the morning at Craigavon Park getting their hands dirty planting native species with support from Te Whau River Catchment Trust. Recent rain had turned parts of the site into a muddy mess, but that didn’t slow anyone down.

“They were amazing,” said Angus Campbell from Te Whau River Catchment Trust, who led the planting. “Honestly, if you had a group of adults in here, they wouldn’t have got half as stuck into it. These students just loved the mud.”

The group planted 112 plants, including toetoe and harakeke, in an area that stays damp throughout the year.

“We think there’s actually a spring under the ground here,” Angus explained. “Combined with the heavy rain we’ve had, it’s keeping this area really wet at the moment.”

For student James Marquart, the muddy conditions were all part of the adventure.

“It was raining,” James said. “My feet got a bit muddy.”

Despite not having gumboots or a raincoat, James still enjoyed helping with the planting and liked knowing he could come back one day and say, “I planted that.”

Fellow student Sulata Aokuso Safiti also enjoyed the hands-on work.

“We were planting the grasses,” she said. “I liked digging holes.”

After planting, the group headed off for a walk through the ngahere, stopping to look down at a Whau River tributary (small river) from a footbridge.

For Mika van den Berg, who is completing a social work internship from the Netherlands, simply being outdoors was the biggest part of the day.

“I think being out in nature was the best part for the students,” he said. “Just not being in the school building and being in the community.”

And while the weather was less than perfect, Mika believed that made the experience even more valuable.

“It’s not always sunshine and rainbows, is it?” he said. “Sometimes it rains and you still have to do your thing. That’s a metaphor for life.”

Mika, who has spent the past six months working with Oaklynn students, says he has loved his time in New Zealand.

“It’s way more fun just getting out there with these guys and being a role model,” he said. “I love it, and they seem to enjoy it as well.”

Muddy boots, wet jackets and all, it was another memorable day helping young people connect with nature and care for Te Wai o te Whau.

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