PAGE 12 Wednesday <strong>November</strong> <strong>18</strong> <strong>2020</strong> BAY HARBOUR Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz ‘It’s the kids’ reactions which I find the most rewarding’ •From page 11 We don’t get any government or Ministry of Education funding, so we aren’t led by their agenda, and it’s why we’re the number one health education provider. We don’t want to be led by what they want, which is why we work with teachers to adapt [the lesson]. I think that’s what makes us so successful. Why did you decide to join the trust? I’ve got a wee eight-year-old boy and things are a little bit different now than back in my day; kids have got different challenges now, so I just wanted to make sure I was getting in touch with what was going on. Kids seem to be a lot more involved and more aware of what’s happening around them because of social media and access to the internet. That was my excuse to get involved and understand what’s happening in my own child’s head. What are the rewarding parts of your job? The kids – when Harold comes on board, the kids wander in and when they see him, they all get pretty excited to hear what he has to say. It’s the kids’ reactions which I find the most rewarding. Like most jobs, it’s not always fun and games. What can be challenging about your role? I think seeing the statistics that are pretty grim, like when I hear about the teen suicide rates or how many kids are stressed. About 35 per cent of kids are stressed at least once a week. It’s like, bloody hell, these kids are eight or nine-years-old, they shouldn’t be stressed, they should be watching Pokémon on TV or something. Tell me a bit about where life began for you – where did you grow up? How about family? I was born in Salford, UK. When I was about 13-years-old my folks decided to ship us all over, with my brothers and sister, and start life afresh over here. I ended up going to school down the road at Christchurch Boys’ High School, and eventually at the University of Canterbury. After travelling overseas for a while, I came back and became the director at Specsavers (Papanui) after opening up a franchise here. After selling that I was lucky that I had a bit more free to pick and choose the jobs I wanted to do, and that’s when the Life Education Trust job came up. BIRDS OF THE ESTUARY ICON: The Life Education Trust has been visiting Canterbury schools for more than 30 years. My two brothers live in Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast in Australia. My sister is here in Christchurch so she’s not very far from me, and my parents are retired now and live in the Hurunui District. Do you remember much from life back in England? I remember quite a lot of it. It’s quite a rough spot where we were, a lot of cars were being nicked every night and there were a lot of fights, you could just watch it from your window - that’s what it was all to me. One of my favourite parts about my home town is the football, everyone enjoyed a bit of soccer. You could play it in the streets, you’d just jump over the back fence after school and go play with your friends in the streets. Aside from your work, what do you like to do in your spare time? I enjoy any sport, especially soccer being English and all. I’ve always the idea of making something myself so I make short films on the side. I make any type of short film, it’s just a matter of writing a script and trying to gain funding to do it. I’ve always loved movies, the idea for me growing up was to become either a football player, a fireman or a moviemaker. Tanya Jenkins is the manager of the Avon-Heathcote Estuary Ihutai Trust, a non-profit organisation formed in 2002 to protect one of New Zealand’s most important coastal wetlands. This is her last Birds of the Estuary column. A new column will start next week – Estuary Matters. Greenfinch is a sparrow lookalike THE GREENFINCH was introduced from England when some 100 birds were released here between <strong>18</strong>62 and <strong>18</strong>68. Like many other introduced birds, they rather enjoyed our environment and settled here nicely with the result that they are now commonly found throughout New Zealand. This greenfinch is a small bird and is actually often confused for a house sparrow due to its size and its plain brownish colourings. But then spring arrives and the male produces its stunning green and yellow breeding plumage and certainly can no longer be called plain. Nests are being built in early spring when four to six eggs are produced, and this can be repeated twice during the nesting season. The female incubates the eggs alone but is assisted by the male who will bring her food to the nest to save her from having to leave the eggs alone. Feeding the chicks is done by both the parent birds. They are not fussy eaters and they will eat most tree seeds, but the seeds of the pine trees do tend to be their favourite and that is why you may have seen the greenfinches along the South Brighton side of the estuary more often than the hillside. Apart from seeds though they will also at caterpillars, aphids, moths and other small bugs. Fill up your bird feeders, the greenfinch is easily attracted by “wild bird seed” available from supermarkets. Cosmetic Injectables Facial anti-wrinkle treatment and dermal fillers With Dr Lesley McCafferty BDS MSc (Dent Implant), BSc (Hons), MJDF (RCS Lond). At Ferrymead Dental Centre, 9 Tussock Lane FREE consultation and introductory offers with code BAY20 Email: info@ferrymead-dental.co.nz Call: 03 384 7170 HEAT PUMP SALE NOW ON! 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Wednesday <strong>November</strong> <strong>18</strong> <strong>2020</strong> Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz BAY HARBOUR PAGE 13
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