14 September 2023

Last week Te Ara Tipu members met for the third time in 2023, this time in Ōtautahi Christchurch!

After their arrival, students visited the International Antarctic Centre to join an educational tour with focus on sustainability and international collaborations with Latin America. The tour also included hands-on experiences such as riding on Hägglunds – an all-terrain amphibious Antarctic vehicle, as well as observing penguins and meeting huskies.

The next day, we were hosted by Christchurch International Airport Limited where we heard from Craig Dunstan (Head of Customer and Commercial), Richard McMann (Manager Customer Services), and Hannah Cooke (Project Coordinator, Park to Plane Customer Experience) about Christchurch Airport’s eco-system, including their work around sustainability, innovation, accessibility and customer experience. The group were also lucky to get a tour of the airport’s award winning Smarter Waste System, simple effective waste sorting system, which was set up with the goal to reach 80% waste diversion from landfills.

The trip was concluded with Bridget Williams’ Bead and Proceed workshop where students learned about the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by listening to a high-energy presentation on the history of the SDGs and painting beads symbolizing their commitment to the goals, cementing students’ commitment to create a more sustainable world by 2030. A definite highlight of this trip!

We thank our generous hosts who made this trip a memorable experience and look forward to seeing the Te Ara Tipu members again in Auckland in October!