Pupils' toy libraries give back to the community

Daniel Kelsey, George Howard, Caelum Rogers-Hall, Charles Hibberd, Reinhardt Steenkamp, Mike Wright, Louis Wright, Lewis Farr and Lucas Giles helped build toy libraries for Papamoa beaches. Photo / George Novak

A group of boys from Papamoa College has brought joy to many with the beach toy libraries they created for anyone to use.

The boys, all Year 10 this year, had to create something in their last year's technology class to benefit the community.

They built large wooden boxes and sent a call out to the rest of the school for beach toys - and the libraries were born.

One of the toy libraries.

Donated toys included frisbees, a cricket bat and ball, buckets and spades, boogie boards and beach chairs built by other students.

More toys are being donated by The Wooden Toy Box in Papamoa. Two libraries have been set up, one at Papamoa Domain and the other at Harrison's Cut.

A third is planned for Papamoa East and there was a fourth, but a chicken at a local kindergarten has made the box its home.

Mike Wright, teacher of technology, said the idea for the boxes came from a citizenship class where the students had to come up with ideas for the community.

Lucas Giles, 14, said the idea was that people who did not bring their own toys could borrow something from the library and put it back when they were done.

The Shed Shop donated wood for the boxes which took a few weeks to build.