“I feel proud,” said Eli, a Year 8 student from Parua Bay School, Whangarei, attending his first-ever Zespri AIMS Games playing Rip Rugby. Eli was among a record number of students who enthusiastically took part in a coastal clean-up at Hopukiore, Mount Drury Reserve this week. Together, these rangatahi collected 60kg of waste, nearly half of which was glass sent for recycling.
The coastal clean-up, now in its third year, is part of the Give Back Games, Tauranga City Council's sustainability programme, which runs alongside the Zespri AIMS Games tournament. It gives athletes the chance to go green, get hands-on, and most importantly, have fun while giving back to the city that hosts them.
This year’s participating schools came from all over New Zealand, with some schools making the Give Back Games activities part of their annual AIMS experience. One returning school, St Andrew’s College from Christchurch, has taken part in the coastal clean-up three years running.
Returning school, St Andrews College from Christchurch at this year's Coastal Clean-up. Image: Tauranga City Council.
The Give Back Games channel the spirit of inter-school competition, with schools earning points through activities like the coastal clean-up, tree planting, and also by donating food to Good Neighbour, riding the free buses, and using reusable mugs at coffee vendors. QR codes at each activity let participants log their efforts, with a live leaderboard on the official Zespri AIMS Games app. The Kaitiaki Trophy is then awarded to the school that best demonstrates kaitiakitanga, earning the highest points across the week.
Bombay School, getting stuck in at the tree planting activity. Image: Tauranga City Council.
At Kōpurererua Valley, nearly 1,500 native trees, including tōtara, kahikatea, pukatea, harakeke, and rewarewa, were planted, helping restoration efforts and building on last year's planting. Returning athletes and teachers from Bombay School, Auckland, were able to see the results of their efforts from 2024. "It’s great to see the trees we planted last year doing well, and to be here to help again this year."
Thanks to the partnership between Bay of Plenty Regional Council and Tauranga City Council, athletes, whānau, and supporters were able to travel sustainably and reduce cars on the road. The free bus service between Mount Maunganui and Pāpāmoa saw record use this week, with close to 3,000 passengers counted having used the service up to Thursday, including 653 on Wednesday and nearly 1,000 for the Opening Ceremony park and ride.
Give Back Games Kaitiaki Trophy overall winners, Bethlehem College. Image: Tauranga City Council.
This year’s Kaitiaki Trophy winners are local school Bethlehem College, whose blue-and-red teams threw themselves into the coastal clean-up and tree planting activities, showing the true spirit of the competition and looking cool while doing it! Lydia, the manager of the Bethlehem College hockey team, the BC Huskies, said at the coastal cleanup, “It’s so nice to give back to our own community, and the girls have really enjoyed it.”
Parua Bay School, from Whangārei. Give Back Games Participation Award winners. Image Tauranga City Council.
The Participation Award recognises the school that earns the most points per student, highlighting the collective effort of their team. This year’s winners were Parua Bay School from Whangārei for their outstanding work in the coastal clean-up. Their school will be gifted a native tree as a lasting reminder of their mahi.
Thank you to all the schools that took part in the Give Back Games this year.