2 May, 2026

Students spruce up beach

Japanese student Saki, 15, and the keen crew (below) who tidied Takapuna Beach for International Earth Day

Around 30 English-language students took to Takapuna Beach on International Earth Day for a litter clean-up organised with environmental group Pupuke Birdsong Project.
Curious locals were impressed to see the mostly teenage students from Takapuna-based Duke Institute of Studies work their way down the beach on Wednesday last week, buckets in hand.
“We wanted to connect more with the local community and do something that helps,” said Lil Broughton, a teacher at the institute. Students enjoyed the opportunity to get out of the classroom and learn more about the local environment, she said.

Pupuke Birdsong co-ordinator Maisie Ramsay said a relationship had been forged with the institute a year ago as part of its own community volunteer outreach programme. Project speakers had visited the school. Student groups then weeded at Killarney Park and also make traps to catch yellow-legged hornets, which they gave out to the public on Hurstmere Rd in summer.
Aside from a few bottles, there was not a lot of obvious litter on the beach, but students were urged to look closely and collect small pieces of plastic.
The institute has been in Takapuna for 25 years, with its students primarily coming from China, Japan and Korea. Some take courses to improve their English before studying as international students at North Shore high schools, others are adult learners or teens on shorter stays during their home country’s school breaks. The clean-up crew included an intake from Thailand, who are on a one-month visit, as well as several people from Turkey.

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