Students win with sensory garden for blind

A small class of Whangarei business students have won a national award for their work with a local community organisation.

Huanui College's Year 10 Business class have created a sensory garden as part of a project to improve the offices of the Foundation for the Blind in Whangarei.

Their plans have won the BP Community Enterprise Project, a national competition run to show secondary students how businesses and not-for-profit organisations can work together to benefit the community.

The Huanui students had originally wanted to focus their project on guide dogs.

But Year 10 student Heemi Kapa-Kingi said after a visit to the foundation's offices, the students had settled on the idea of a sensory garden and tactile toys for a blind children's support group that meets at the offices.

"It involves things that stimulate peoples senses, like smell," Kapa-Kingi said. "We've got scented flowers, big bright posters with buttons you can press that say the quote that's on that poster, and textile cushion monster things that children can play with."

The Huanui students won $1000 to implement their plans and will be flown to Wellington on December 1 to receive their award and present their project to a special gala dinner.

Their teacher, Vernice Young, said she was proud of the students' professional presentation.

BP managing director Mike McGuinness said the Huanui College team stood out from the other entries in the competition.

"They took time to get to know the people at the Foundation for the Blind and understood how they could really help.

"It's important to foster a sense of community in our kids. These project give students an opportunity to learn real life skills whilst helping in the community.

"Team Huanui are proof of how much good our young people can do when they have the chance."