FUTURE GENERATION

HONOUR MITCHELL: TEEN PICKS - A WALK IN THE WILD

I am currently working towards completing the Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme.

Having finished Bronze and Silver, I am now over halfway through my Gold award, which is really exciting! The Gold award presents a fairly challenging set of criteria: 52 hours of a community service (I chose volunteering at Trade Aid), 52 hours practicing a skill (I chose journalism and write this monthly column for Ponsonby News) and 52 hours of physical recreation (for me this is attending a weekly run club). As well as these core elements, those chasing the Gold award are required to spend a week completing a residential project (such as living in and assisting at a retirement village or a kids' camp) plus plan and complete a four day, three night tramping journey.

At the beginning of October I completed the Gold tramp, which was an enormous test of physical and mental strength. My Duke of Edinburgh group jointly made the decision to tackle the Lake Waikaremoana Great Walk.

Waikaremoana here we come On Day One we were up at 5.30am all packed and ready for the six hour drive to our destination, so we could start the trail by early afternoon. Almost immediately we were walking through some seriously dense bush. The trails were often covered in thick layers of squelchy mud due to recent storms - feeling dirty and wet became a consistent theme! Fallen trees blocked our path at times but jumping over these really wasn’t too much of an issue. A perk of walking alongside this huge lake meant that (when we didn't have our eyes glued to the track) we got to take in the truly picturesque views - definitely worthy of a desktop screensaver! I honestly felt I might not be fit enough for this expedition, so I had lots of fears about not being able to walk fast enough, or running out of steam, especially with an extra 10kgs on my back. But despite my worries, I kept up with the group easily even through the hardest and most tiring patches. (Our longest day was a 19 kilometre hilly trek, in torrential rain.)

Endurance At the end of these lengthy days my feet were crying out, my hips and shoulders seemed bruised from my pack and on the final day, after an unfortunate slip, my ankle was extremely swollen (far from ideal!). Add to that, 32 itchy bites (yes, I counted) and I was definitely feeling the effects of "walking in the the wild”. If you do this tramp, remember to bring insect repellent! Also be wary of the weather as it’s a key determinant in the difficulty of the trails. We hit Waikaremoana after a major nation-wide storm and frankly the forecast was pretty grim. However, in reality we actually had sun the majority of the time, apart from one horrible day. But we still had to deal with the muddy conditions produced by the downpours earlier in the week. Summertime would certainly offer a more agreeable hike.

Food Now let’s talk about food... which, when you are tramping, is never optimal. Knowing that breakfasts were the most important meal, I reached for the trustworthy porridge. I cooked up oats with protein powder, which I must admit tasted a bit like playdough but it was filling and when paired with pureed baby food pears, it seemed to be quite the meal. For dinners I had premixed risotto two nights (that I managed to burn) and then a delectable prepackaged Watties pasta another night, which tasted heavenly in comparison. I also brought along a bag of chopped raw carrots, which I highly recommend! Just having that bit of freshness was so worth it. Lunch mainly consisted of high protein snacks and, of course, my trustworthy carrots as accompaniments. For water, I swear by ‘Aquatabs’, just pop one into a litre of water and in 30 minutes it's safe to drink! This was so much easier than boiling water, which in my case would have tasted like burnt risotto.

Sleeping After long days of walking all we really wanted to do was sleep and thankfully along the Waikaremoana track there are huts. This meant we didn't have the extra burden of carrying a tent and sleeping mat or putting damp tents up and down. All the huts were in very good condition with great fireplaces, which meant that we could dry our sopping wet boots and socks. These havens provided a perfect cozy, warm space to collapse after a hard day.

Heading home… or not? When we finally finished this spectacular "Great Walk", I was instantly flooded with relief. But my relaxation came to an abrupt halt when we found we were actually trapped due to a major landslide covering the road in. After some satellite exchanges, we were fortunate to be helped out by park rangers who organised temporary shelter at a nearby holiday park. Once further arrangements had been made, we clambered into a small boat that sped us bumpily across the lake - I was gripping on for dear life - to safety. The relief again flushed through me when I finally saw my Dad standing by the car waiting to collect me and I knew it was home time. And boy-oh-boy, a hot shower and my own bed had never seemed so luxurious. Thanks Waikaremoana, you were an adventure I certainly will never forget! (HONOUR MITCHELL)  PN

IT’S NEVER TOO LATE TO LEARN

With two years of disruptive schooling, you may have hoped that this year was going to be better, however the flow-on effect this world-wide pandemic has had on education has been phenomenal.

Students are finding that they have large gaps in their understanding, have missed key concepts, and have struggled to catch up, keep up, or be ahead of where they need to be.

At NumberWorks’nWords we know that it is never too late to learn, and if students are requiring additional support, sooner is better than later, and later is better than never. There are many benefits to tutoring and with students now starting their end of year exams or finishing off the school year, now is the time to look ahead and plan for next year.

At NumberWorks’nWords we love to see children achieving success with their learning and developing the confidence in their ability. Students work on individual goals and have the opportunity to fill in their learning gaps. They enjoy learning new concepts and have the opportunity to practise new skills and build on from what they already know. Students are able to keep up with the curriculum, have the opportunity to forge ahead, and consolidate their new understandings. Not only do students learn to stay focused, they take ownership of their learning and feel supported while doing so.

If you feel your child would benefit from some additional support phone NumberWorks’nWords Grey Lynn on 09 360 0816 for an initial discussion, email greylynn@numberworks. com, or visit numberworksnwords.com/nz to learn more about maths and English tuition with NumberWorks’nWords.

NUMBERWORKS’NWORDS Grey Lynn, 316 Richmond Rd, T: 09 360 0816, E: greylynn@numberworks.com, www.numberworksnwords.com/nz

FUTURE GENERATION LISA PRAGER: WIN WIN

With the stroke of a pen and a handful of well crafted letters (reprinted everywhere) our new Mayor Wayne Brown ends the era of the ‘out of control’ council organisations.

His missives forced interim Chief Executive Mark Lambert (AT) to offer up this mea culpa; “We agree with the mayor that a new approach is needed to better understand the needs and expectations of our communities and how we, our decisions and the work we do, impacts on people’s daily lives.”

I wonder if this public show of remorse will include personal apologies for the appalling treatment of brave citizens who challenged Auckland Transport’s flawed ideology from day one?

Will the Local Government Minister apologise for all the letters of concern she ignored? Will the Police reconsider their position and stand alongside citizens when governance goes awry? Will the PM continue to support the greenwash that allows mature street trees to be felled and concrete bike barriers to be laid?

Today I am deeply thankful to the people who voted for Wayne Brown to take the helm, for those who worked to reinstall Mike Lee in Waitematā, and those who voted for Sarah Trotman, Allan Matson, Greg Moyle and Gene Sage to represent them. Our expectation of their good governance is high.

I am grateful to the good folk of Occupy Garnet Rd [est. 2017] for standing up to protect the street trees and footpaths of their heritage suburb because their actions over the last 5 years may have saved our city $45 million that would have been spent on a gold plated cycleway.

Thank you to the people who shared the issues on social media when mainstream news outlets dismissed our concerns, to those who wrote letters to the editor, lodged Official Information Act requests and others who set up and sustained occupations across the city.

My thanks also goes out to those who gathered petition signatures, raised funds, made posters, provided legal help and contributed thousands of dollars to fight Auckland Council in the Environment Court when we tried to save the Western Springs Native Forest. To my sister activist Soala, whose bravery, compassion and dedication inspired me to never give up despite the mounting obstacles. Finally there is a glimmer of hope, the people have been listened to.

The late Penny Bright and I warned that the Super City was nothing more then a corporate take over of Tamaki Makaurau’s many resources. My deepest wish is that from now on common sense will prevail in serving the greater good.

I have high hopes for the notion of the servant leader; entrusted to make good decisions based on fact not ideology.

The future of our city is in our hands. Democracy is not just about voting once every 3 years, it’s about becoming involved in what you care about – the natural environment, heritage, transport, Te Tiriti, intensification, homelessness – the issues are many.

My final wish is that no one ever has to stand on a bulldozer holding protest signs to stop the council running amuck. (LISA PRAGER, community advocate)  PN

I Love Lucy Book Review:

Slaughterhouse-Five, or the Children’s Crusade - 14+

“And I asked myself about the present: how wide it was, how deep it was, how much was mine to keep”?

Billy Pilgrim is many things, an optometrist in 1967, a prisoner of war in 1945, and a time-traveller. Billy experiences time in a different way to the rest of the world, where for us, time is moving forward, slowly and surely, for Billy, it is erratic and unpredictable. The novel surrounds the fire-bombing of Dresden in the Second World War, a tragedy that both Billy Pilgrim and the book’s author, Kurt Vonnegut, were present for. By showing how fractured and wild the main character’s perception of life and time is, the unpredictability of our own lives comes to light. In the novel, a repeated phrase of Billy’s is, “so it goes”, often used after a horrifying death or pointless misfortune comes to pass; this highlights how war often desensitises those involved. Slaughterhouse-Five is a realistic anti-war book, not glorifying any aspect of it.

I bought this book on a rainy day from a warm bookshop, sat at a cafe, and began to read it. I found myself unable to stop reading until I had turned the final page the next day. Slaughterhouse-Five has been playing on my mind since I finished it and slotted it onto my bookshelf. I compare it to a goldmine of deeper thinking; nothing can be read and forgotten as every concept and character represents something more. Slaughterhousefive was published in 1969, and a film of the book was made in 1972.

The book is easy to comprehend due to its straightforward use of language, but due to the nature of the content this is in no way a children’s book. I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in the Second World War, in the idea of time travel, or those who want to see time in an alternate way. (LUCY KENNEDY)  PN  out of 5!

ANTENATAL CLASSES IN HERNE BAY

Lou and Arlene have 10 years of midwifery experience and four years of childbirth education experience between them.

When they first met they quickly realised they had a shared vision to empower all pregnant families through education in a safe, inclusive environment.

Offering up something different to the "one-size-fits-all" publicly funded antenatal classes, EMPWR’s Earthside birth and parenting classes are a full spectrum antenatal course hosted in a vibrant co-working villa in Herne Bay.

Fully catered to all dietary requirements, with a generous gift box from supporting brands, and a curriculum of topics that centres the needs of the parents in front of them, all this is strongly underpinned by their philosophy that every single person is doing the best with what they have, and that there is no right, wrong, or better way to conceive, grow, birth, or raise a baby.

Lou and Arlene's experience shines through in their classes that they co-facilitate - a mindful choice to reduce bias and expand the knowledge base available to expecting parents.

Courses are LGBTQIA+ centred and celebratory, but welcome families from all walks of life. Classes include topics around coping with labour, using meditative techniques to manage pain, and exploring pharmaceutical and medical modes of labour and birth with just as much joy and enthusiasm. Over 50% of the course discusses what happens after your pēpi is born - postpartum bodies, families, mental health, infant feeding, and the practicalities of newborn care. With a maximum of eight couples per class to keep things intimate and cosy, you’ll be sure to have all of your questions answered and find yourself a new community of parents walking the same journey as you.

Arlene Oram (she/her) and Lou Kelly (they/them)

EMPWR, T: 027 255 5498, www.empwr.nz

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