These boys bolted in

Three happy brothers used their boundless energy (and a lot of help from their mum) to take the top prize in Hastings District Council’s first ever Parks Week competition.

Under-12s were challenged to grab an adult, and get around as many of Hastings’ 37 playgrounds as possible, get photos of themselves on the play equipment, and send them in to council.

The Te Whaiti brothers bolted in – getting photos at 23 of the playgrounds. But it was not as easy as it might have been. The family set out to complete the task over Easter weekend; and it rained every day.

That did not put the three boys, Westen, seven, Isaac, six, and Christian, 2, off though, said mum Theresa Te Whaiti. “Sometimes it would look okay, the boys would jump out of the car and it would start pouring.”

But it was worth it, she said, providing a real education on what was available for children in the district.

The family visited a bunch of play areas outside of their normal neighbourhood go-to play spaces, Windsor Park and William Nelson Park.

Among those they had not been to before were the Flaxmere parks, Evers-Swindell Reserve in Clive and Te Awanga.

“They really liked Te Awanga; it has quite different play equipment out there. The whole thing was like a treasure hunt and a great incentive to get out and look at some of the parks we hadn’t been too,” said Mrs Te Whaiti.

The inaugural Australasian Parks Week ran from March 3 to 9. Run by the Parks Forum, the aim is to promote parks and the important role they play in contributing to health, happy and strong communities.

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