Dish the dirt to ramp it up

Teenage boys have built their own playground from soil at Birkenhead Memorial Park. Their reward for this effort? A full BMX track upgrade, reports Varsha Venugopalan.
Moving from the fresh air of an outdoor skate park into a murky forest, I see carved-up dirt hillocks taking shape among the trees.
"It feels great to come here," says BMX biker 15-year-old Luke Tattersall. "I just wish it were in better condition."
With a nostalgic sigh, he recalls how the whole thing started during a time when there were no BMX tracks for Luke and his friends in Beach Haven to tear around on.
They tried taking sneaky rides at skate parks early in the mornings, leaving before angry older skaters arrived. Their leaps off some slopes ended when a concerned resident alerted a park ranger to their activities.
About 10 years ago, a group of boys had built four small dirt jumps at the northern edge of Birkenhead Memorial Park. With borrowed shovels and wheelbarrows, Luke and his friends made three more jumps over a summer.
"Birkenhead was the only place near enough for BMX without getting in trouble," he says.
It was hard, heavy work for the inexperienced boys. But they had the determination, smoothing the slopes after rain, keeping their work under wraps, fixing damage by vandals and waiting for dry weather before testing the new ramps.
When Luke's mother, Maree Tattersall, found out the reason for all the dirty laundry, she was delighted and supportive.
"The boys can't do this on their own. They need the council's help," she decided.
Luke and his mates took a proposal to upgrade the Birkenhead tracks to the former North Shore City Council two years ago. Their patience has now finally paid off.
Auckland Council's parks manager, Mark Bowater, confirms plans for a formal, more long-term facility is under way in response to the community's keenness to use the park for BMX.
The existing tracks will be replaced during the 2012-2013 financial years. This is so enough money for design and construction will be available for a new BMX area, path and cycleway connections. Birkenhead Northcote's community coordinator, Jill Nerheny, says plans will be drawn up by July, and Luke and his friends will be involved in working out what is needed.
North Harbour BMX president Rob Macready says ad hoc neighbourhood trails can be good places for teens and beginners to strengthen their skills before committing to the sport. "They keep kids busy, too, which is a good thing," he says.
He does warn, however, of the dangers of riding on dirt jumps in a forest. "Sometimes, they need a run-off area so, if people get it wrong, they don't run into a tree."
Luke shrugs off the potential danger. He says soil cushions landings from steep jumps.
Adds Mrs Tattersall: "Boys and their dirt!"
Bicycle kicks
Parks manager Mark Bowater says $238,681 has been allocated to the BMX tracks in Birkenhead War Memorial Park. Auckland Council owns and manages five BMX tracks, with dirt jumps, on parkland across the Auckland region. BMXers may use some of these,  such as Victoria Park's Skate Park, which is under development.