Top Outdoor Spot competition back for 2015

Kiwi school children are being encouraged to snap photos, draw pictures and share creative descriptions of their favourite outdoor places in the 2015 Top Outdoor Spot competition.

The competition is being run on the New Zealand Walking Access Commission's Both Sides of the Fence (bothsidesofthefence.org.nz) education website from 26 January to 20 March 2015.

Both Sides of the Fence is a curriculum-aligned website which encourages students up to year 8 to think about the value of access to the outdoors as part of the Kiwi way of life. It supports English and Social Sciences learning areas and EOTC activities, including school camps and field trips.

New Zealand Walking Access Commission Chief Executive Mark Neeson said the Top Outdoor Spot competition provided teachers with an entertaining and educational means of raising awareness of responsible behaviour in the outdoors.

“The competition aims to get children thinking about why they value the outdoors and why our access culture and heritage is so important. Many schools run camps and other outdoor activities during term one and the Both Sides of the Fence website is an engaging way for teachers to inform children about responsible behaviour when accessing the outdoors.â€