Western News: October 30, 2018

WESTERN NEWS Latest Christchurch news at www.star.kiwi
Tuesday October 30 2018 7
News
Eco-Warriors in national final
• By Anan Zaki
AN OAKLANDS School
team has made it to the final
of a national problem solving
competition.
The team, named Eco-
Warriors, entered the Future
Problem Solving New Zealand
competition in March.
They had to
solve a community
problem
and the
Eco-Warriors
chose to focus
on waste reduction
in the
Caroline
Martin
community.
The team
is made up of
nine pupils aged between nine
and 11 years-old.
Eco-Warriors coach and Oaklands
School deputy principal
Caroline Martin said the idea
was to encourage pupils to take
action in the community.
“We looked at newspaper articles,
including the Western News
and we just looked at issues in
the community. It was around
that time that supermarkets
were saying they were going to
do away with plastic bags,” Mrs
Martin said.
The team then researched on
FINALISTS: The Eco-Warriors team (from left), Ben Hanson ,10 ,Thomas White, 10, Isis
McKenzie, 9, Beatrice Christie, 10, Keisha Byrne, 10, Max McAlister , 9, Madison McKenzie, 9,
Aden Veint, 11 and Charlie Barnes, 10.
plastic, what damage it causes to
oceans and landfills.
“The kids decided they would
try to get rid of plastic rubbish
from our school and our community,”
Mrs Martin said.
Regardless of the result, the
team were proud to have made a
difference, she said.
“We cleaned Westlake Park
and are we’re now discussing
putting signs up on the park
explaining the birds in the area,”
Mrs Martin said.
The team also held rubbish
free lunchtimes, sold reusable
bags and held presentations to
educate the community.
The final will be held from
Friday to Sunday in Auckland.
To enter the final the Eco-
Warriors had to put in a submission
highlighting why they
should be in the final.
In the final, the team have to
create a display board, a scrapbook
and an oral presentation
about their projects.
If the team win the
competition they will qualify
to compete in the international
final in Massachusetts, United
States.
Local
News
Now
In Brief
Fire rages, homes at risk
TAMIL SCHOOL
The Christchurch Tamil School
will be moving its school
operation from the Waimairi
Community Centre to Riccarton
Baptist Church. The school will
be using rooms that had been
previously used by Pasifika
Education and Employment
Training Organisation. A
welcome ceremony is planned
for this week. The school is part
of the Canterbury Tamil Society,
promoting Tamil language and
culture in the region.
COMMUNITY BOOKSHELF
Another group of Canterbury
University students are installing
a community library box at
Clarence St Reserve where people
can take books to read and leave
for others to read.
PAVEMENT WORKS
The Riccarton Rd pavement
works to Harakeke St are
complete. The traffic signals at the
rail crossing were commissioned
on October 24. This was a joint
commissioning between the city
council and KiwiRail and the
pedestrian and cycle crossing is
now operational. The temporary
pedestrian crossing outside
Wilson’s Sports Bar has been
removed and the bus lanes are
now fully operational.
HAVE YOUR SAY
Lincoln Road and Moorhouse Avenue
bus priority improvements
We are planning to install peak hour bus lanes on Lincoln Road and Moorhouse Avenue
to improve bus journey times between Halswell and the central city.
The southwest of Christchurch is growing fast and we expect 35,000 people to move
into that area over the next 30 years. The bus priority measures we are proposing
will help to cater to this growth. We’d like to hear your views.
Come talk to the team:
6pm, Tuesday 30 October
Addington Coffee Co-op, 297 Lincoln Road
6pm, Thursday 1 November
Addington Coffee Co-op, 297 Lincoln Road
11am-1pm, Wednesday 7 November
Manuka Cottage at St Mary’s Church, 21 Church Square, Addington
Consultation closes 5pm, 4 December 2018.
ccc.govt.nz/haveyoursay