Havelock North Primary School students, Ruby O'Sullivan (front), Tessa O'Sullivan and Bella Biggs showing off how interactive The Wool Shed can be. Photo / Supplied
Havelock North Primary School students, Ruby O'Sullivan (front), Tessa O'Sullivan and Bella Biggs showing off how interactive The Wool Shed can be. Photo / Supplied
An interactive educational opportunity for students might be the way to help New Zealand with its growing wool crisis.
The Wool In Schools programme works with primary, intermediate, and secondary schools.
Schools can register for The Wool Shed, filled with interactive tools to educate kids on wool qualities and processes,for up to two weeks at a time.
The sheds are two converted shipping containers, one for the North Island and one for the South Island, free for school use.
The North Island container has spent the last two weeks at Havelock North Primary School teaching about 250 students about New Zealand wool.
Rebecca Northe, a teacher who has been overseeing the Wool Shed programme, said the school expressed interest in having access to The Wool Shed in 2021 and went on the waiting list.
"Schools struggle to resource all areas of learning effectively to ensure students have a greater understanding of the world they live in."
While not every student was able to go through The Wool Shed in the two weeks, all Year 6 students and Year 3 and 4 students learned through the experience.
Students who went through the container learned where and how wool comes from the field then becomes a product or item.
The kids could see how sheep wool was used for many different things such as Allbirds shoes, felt dryer balls, Wimbledon tennis balls, etc.
"Staff up-skilled on their understanding of wool thanks to the resources provided, meaning the hard work was done for them, allowing for teachers to enjoy the experience with the students," Northe said.
Tessa O'Sullivan (left), Tom O'Sullivan, Ruby O'Sullivan and Bella Biggs: For two weeks HNPS students have had the opportunity to spend time inside the Wool in Schools, Wool Shed. Photo / Supplied
"The Wool Shed is an amazing opportunity for students to interact with many different wool products that can then be linked to further learning at school."
Chairman of Campaign for Wool NZ, Tom O'Sullivan, said the Wool In Schools initiative aims to help children understand wool's place in their lives and why it should be part of our future.
O'Sullivan hopes the programme will help educate young consumers about the wool crisis and the benefits of using natural fibre instead of harmful plastic alternatives.
"New Zealand's wool industry used to be the backbone of the country's economy, but sadly today for many farmers it costs more to shear their sheep than they get for their wool," O'Sullivan said.
"Eighty-five per cent of wool New Zealand produces is strong wool, a slightly thicker fibre than the more delicate merino wool.
"The price for wool is sitting only slightly above $2/kg and at that level the cost to shear a sheep is more than the returns from the wool the farmer receives.
"Wool has moved from a revenue stream to a cost to their business, creating a wool crisis for these farmers."
As the sale of wool declines, cheap synthetic and plastic fibres have been rising in popularity over the last few decades.
O'Sullivan said, "Only more recently has the world woken up to the serious damage plastic products have done to the environment.
"Wool In Schools will ensure young generations will fall back in love with the super-fibre that is wool and in doing so drive up demand and the value of wool for a sustainable future and a much healthier planet."
The Wool Shed books out fast as Wool In Schools can only visit 20 schools per island per year. However, teachers can go online and register their school's interest in having a visit from the Wool In Schools team.
