Wakefield school students rolled up their sleeves and got stuck into some hard work last week, running a charity motorcycle wash at the national motorcycle event ‘The Gathering’ that was held in the Nelson and Tasman regions over the weekend.
The Gathering is a national motorcycle rally, with the emphasis on likeminded riders getting together and ‘having a good time.’ This year, the event was held in Nelson for the first time, and was a BEARS rally, for riders of British, European and American motorcycles, although all bikes were welcome.
Students from Wakefield school showed up to the gathering with buckets and sponges in hand, to wash bikes and raise some money for their school.
Wakefield School teacher aide Belinda Elley, who helped organise the fundraiser, says that it was great to be approached by ‘The Gathering.’
“They saw our fundraiser and decided that they wanted to support us.”
Belinda says that the kids are raising money for the Wakefield school pool’s new ‘solar project.’
“We’re trying to install some solar heating for our school pool, with the aim of being a bit more environmentally friendly,” she says.
Wakefield school launched their fundraising project late last year, in an effort to reduce their carbon emissions and reduce spending on heating, and aim to raise $120,000 for the new solar-heating project.
Wakefield school principal Peter Verstappen says that the projected savings in energy costs by switching to solar power will help keep annual key prices at an affordable level and potentially extend the swimming season from the current five months per year, which is an asset for the community.
“The solar project is a bonus for the school because any electricity not needed to heat the pool will be diverted to the school’s use, reducing our reliance on mains power and, in winter, on diesel-powered heating,” Peter says.