Northland students enjoy adventurous Zoofari

Northland students enjoy adventurous Zoofari

Wet weather wasn’t enough to rain on the parade of Kawakawa and Ohaeawai schools who travelled to Auckland this week to enjoy a wild adventure on Auckland Zoo’s Warehouse Zoofari programme.

Starting off with an exploration of the Zoo’s Te Wao Nui precinct, home to over 50 different New Zealand native species in habitats from the forest and high country to wetlands and sanctuary islands, the Year 5 and 6 students were able to see everything from tuatara, kaka, kukupa, kea, kiwi, skinks and geckos and learn all about what makes these taonga unique.

Ohaeawai School teacher Diane Henderson says most of her Year 5 and 6 students had never been to Auckland Zoo before, and have been talking excitedly about the trip for weeks.

“It’s very rare for them to get an opportunity like this, and they’ve loved seeing wildlife like kiwi, tuatara and kea. We have kiwi in our area, so our students are very aware of the need to preserve and look after them, but this is the first time they’ve actually seen a real kiwi. It really brings all their learning to life,” says Mrs Henderson.

Due to the long distance Northland schools need to travel, students and accompanying teachers and parents get to stay over at the Zoo, and also experience a night adventure. On their guided Zoofari night walk through the Zoo the students also got to help feed the hippo cabbages and see discovered other exotic wildlife up late including lemurs, red panda, serval, cheetah as well as fur seals and sea lion swimming at The Coast within Te Wao Nui.

The Warehouse School Zoofari is an innovative three-year partnership between Auckland Zoo and The Warehouse Auckland and Northland, with support from Ritchies Transport, which assists children from low-decile schools in the Auckland and Northland regions to experience conservation-based learning programmes at the Zoo.

Over $62K was raised in The Warehouse’s Auckland and Northland stores in January 2015 to assist with the costs of learning sessions at Auckland Zoo.

Auckland Zoo education experiences are Ministry of Education certified, and every Zoofari session is facilitated by an Auckland Zoo educator in partnership with teachers to ensure integration into the school curriculum.

ENDS

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