A visit to Hastings' innovative discovery centre turned water into a lesson in language, science and community.
On Wednesday 16 September, learners from the Hawke's Bay centre went on a trip to visit Waiaroha.
The trip was part of an additional two-week spring intensive programme for learners in the Hawke's Bay General English class.
Waiaroha is an interactive discovery centre located in central Hastings. Since 2023, it has served as a high-tech water treatment plant and storage facility, providing clean drinking water to the surrounding community.
The project was developed following the contamination of Havelock North's drinking water supply with Campylobacter in 2016.
As a result of this event, the development of the Water Services Entity legislation began and a $100 million investment in water infrastructure by the Hastings District Council.
These efforts led to the development of Waiaroha, which functions as both a working water treatment plant and an educational facility.
It provides an opportunity to educate the community about the value of water, showcase its journey, and celebrate its cultural significance.
At the facility, learners took part in a 30-minute tour, exploring the outdoor education space, interactive water features and indoor discovery centre.
This included viewing the facility's two giant water tanks, which each hold 5 million litres of drinking water. The tanks are designed to ensure a reliable water supply for the community, particularly during times of need such as droughts, floods or natural disasters.
After the tour, the centre operations coordinator and teacher, Janka McBeth, had prepared a scavenger hunt, challenging learners to gather information from around Waiaroha and answer related questions.
The learners enjoyed learning about the water cycle and were amazed to discover that Hastings uses approximately 55 million litres of water each day during summer.
That's the equivalent of eleven of the giant water tanks they saw during the tour.
They were also interested in learning about the treatment process that makes the water they use at home safe for drinking and everyday activities.
A key fact that stood out was that water runoff from roads flows directly into streams and rivers.
One surprised learner commented, "Don't wash your car in the driveway, the water goes straight into the ocean!"
Overall, the visit to Waiaroha was both educational and enjoyable, and learners left with a wealth of new knowledge.
The visit provided an excellent opportunity for learners to build their vocabulary in a real-life context. Some of the new words they learned included wai, aroha, aquifer and treatment plant.
Learning a blend of te reo Māori and English is extremely valuable for understanding New Zealand culture and participating in community life.
In the class following the excursion, learners reflected on their experience by creating a sticky-note mind map featuring the words and concepts they had learned. It was a great way to capture the highlights of a very successful trip.
Bringing together learners from China, Indonesia, Somalia and Brazil, the trip provided an opportunity for students with diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds to build their confidence using English beyond the classroom.
A special thank you to Janka McBeth for organising and documenting this excursion, and to the Hastings District Council for hosting the group.
