11 Feb 2019
Ōtaki College opened a new $100,000 fitness trail last Thursday, thanks to contributions from the Home and School Association, the Ōtaki College Alumni Trust and New Zealand’s National Grid owner and operator — Transpower New Zealand.
The fitness trail replaces an old playground that needed removal due to Health and Safety concerns. While targeted at year 7 and 8 students, the area will also be used by the rest of the school as part of the PE and Health programme.
Ōtaki College’s Dean of the Year 7/8 students, Megan Nelson-Latu, said the major component of funding was secured through the school’s own communities:
“We had great support with fundraising from the David Pritchard Family, the Home and School Association and the XŌtaki Alumni Trust. The icing on the cake came from Transpower who granted us $50,000 through their CommunityCare Fund.”
“Our year 7 and 8 contingent is traditionally large — over a quarter of our total roll reflecting that we’re the only mainstream intermediate school in the Ōtaki area, so getting this built to replace the now removed playground was really important to us.”
Transpower’s Stakeholder Engagement Manager Geoff Wishart, said the trail was a good fit for its Fund, given the work the grid operator is doing in the region.
“We’re presently replacing the wire on the two transmission lines that are literally just 2km down the road, so it’s nice to be involved in giving back and thanking the community for their patience while we’ve undertaken that work.”
Since its inception in 2007, Transpower’s CommunityCare Fund has funded nearly $10m worth of projects around the country, with $175,000 of that directly into Ōtaki community projects.
For further information, please contact:
Geoff Wishart Stakeholder Engagement Manager on 04 590 6993 or 021 574 877