Karl Urban teams up with KidsCan at Auckland school

Star Trek star Karl Urban dropped into Mt Roskill this morning to plant fruit trees at a low-decile school.

New Zealand-born Urban, who again plays Dr Leonard "Bones" McCoy in Star Trek Beyond, spent more than an hour at Dominion Road School as an ambassador for the KidsCan charity, which has recently added orchards to its programmes providing food, shoes, raincoats and healthcare for low-decile Kiwi schools.

The school's acting principal Kerri McKay said many of her students lived in tightly packed sections with two or more houses on land originally planned for single houses, and had no space for fruit trees.

"Much of our community lives in quite a densely populated area now, so it gives them an opportunity to see part of the garden process," she said.

KidsCan ambassador Karl Urban plants one of the 30 fruit trees for the orchard at Dominion Road School. Photo / Brett Phibbs

"Obviously, being a decile 3 community, KidsCan gives us a lot of support with food and clothing, and this is additional."

She said the school already ran a "Garden to Table" programme, growing vegetables and cooking them in meals for the children. The 20 new fruit trees would also be used to feed the children and teach them how to grow and prepare food.

"Some of our parents and teachers are on a roster to look after our gardens during the holidays. They will look after the fruit trees too," she said.

The Dominion Road orchard is the 17th supported by KidsCan, following others in Auckland and in the Bay of Plenty, Hawkes Bay, Manawatu, Wellington, Nelson and Invercargill. The charity has funding for 16 more next year.

The orchards are targeted at schools in deciles 3 and 4 because those in the poorest areas, deciles 1 and 2, receive free fruit through the Government's Fruit in Schools programme.

Dominion Road is one of the country's most multicultural schools with 102 Pacific students, 70 Asians, 68 Europeans, 51 Middle Eastern, Latin American and African students and 43 Maori.

Urban, 43, recently raised $160,000 for KidsCan through American movie charity Omaze, which offered donors the chance to meet the Star Trek cast and spend time on the set. Funds raised went to the stars' causes.

KidsCan chief executive Julie Chapman told Spy.co.nz that the money would help the charity extend its services to some of the 30 schools on its waiting list.

The charity is also supported by more than 8000 New Zealanders who give $15 a month to support needy Kiwi children through KidsCan's "In our own backyard" child sponsorship programme.

On the web

www.kidscan.org.nz