Going downhill in 2020 has not been an exceptional event, but staff and students at St Kevin’s College have taken it literally. The college in conjunction with Mountain Bike North Otago is creating a downhill mountain bike track that, it is hoped, will form part of the series of tracks available throughout the wider Oamaru area and will extend the opportunities for mountain bike riders already using the track at the Reservoir Road site. Teacher Aidan Haig, himself a keen mountain bike rider and member of MBNO described the project as “an awesome opportunity to utilize the hill area and provide a challenging track for a range of riders”.
The track has been cut using a combination of mechanical power with Graeme McLeod and his digger carving out the wider parts of the track and through time and effort donated by students under the care of supervisor, Jimmy McGeown. Students volunteer their time as part of the school’s service award.
The hillside has, until the last year, been planted out in radiata pine, but after clearing the site, school management felt that the area would have a greater community benefit in being used for sport and being planted out in native trees to support the school’s sustainability goals.
Calls for support in obtaining suitable native plantings have seen generous donations from the North Otago Tree Planting Association and Kerry Robb from K South Commercial Property Services and Oamaru Lawns Plus. While the track will be finished by the end of the year, the school plans to use the hill itself and its native planting as an ongoing tribute to the idea of service to the community. “If it can be a living symbol of community and recognition of service to others, and if it can be enjoyed by the people of North Otago, then we feel we have come to a good place” Principal Mr Paul Olsen stated.
