Mid and South Canterbury

Overview

Life Education Trust Mid and South Canterbury covers the Mid-South Canterbury area, from Rakaia in the North to the Waitaki River in the South and from the sea in the East to Mt Hutt, Mt Somers, Mt Cook and Twizel in the West.

We have been operating since 1991 and have celebrated over 30 years teaching children about the wonders of their bodies and how to live a healthy lifestyle.  The Mid and South Canterbury Trust was launched with the support of the Trust Bank and the Community Trusts.

The Mid and South Canterbury mobile classroom travels to 67 schools in the area and our Educators see teach over 8,000 primary school aged children a year. We visit 18 schools with less than 50 children: 31 rural schools and 36 urban schools.

The state-of-the-art mobile classroom is air-conditioned and heated and is equipped with digital tools to make learning an exciting and memorable experience. We have two qualified Educators who share the workload, visiting 98% of the schools in our area.

Life Education Trust Mid and South Canterbury has a very strong Friends of Harold Club (FOH), with members from a wide range of local businesses, community organisations, service groups and families. The FOH creates an ongoing income which helps fund the annual running costs of the Trust. Our FOH Club and grants raise a good portion of our funds needed to provide our Healthy Harold Programme.

The mobile classroom and tractor unit are well recognised in the area with the recent outer rewrap creating a presence wherever it goes.

Classroom on truck Classroom at school

Facts

  • Life Education is non-Government funded
  • Schools are only charged a small portion of the cost to run our programme, ensuring we are able to reach the tamariki who need us most. The difference is met by Trustees’ successful grant applications, fundraising and donations
  • Volunteer Trustees run the Trust and ensure it is able to meet the needs of our community
  • The logistical planning to schedule visits to schools is always planned one year ahead with a full calendar
  • Transport businesses support and collaborate by providing professional drivers to relocate the classroom according to the schedule of school visits

Our people

The office of Life Education Mid-South Canterbury is located in Community House, Strathallan Street, Timaru where we lease the space.

Trustees come from a variety of backgrounds and currently include a retired school principal, retired teacher, public servant, rural communities’ representative, engineer, lawyer, current teacher, recreation and sport advisers, administration/logistics etc. Our Trustees reflect the Timaru and Ashburton parts of our region. We are volunteers who commit our time, expertise and knowledge without any reimbursement for costs incurred.

Combined, we are a small team of dedicated progressive and professional people, committed to contributing to our society and most particularly to children.

  • Jeff Paul, Chairperson
  • Clare Bruce, Vice Chairperson, Secretary
  • Kiri Pope, Treasurer
  • Marion Dent, Trustee
  • Moyra Whiting, Trustee
  • Murray Page, Trustee
  • Annette Bray, Trustee
  • Kerriann Gardner, Trustee
  • Alice Goode, Trustee
  • Kate Forster
  • Jill Merritt, Fundraising and Promotions Officer
  • Nicola Buckingham, Financial Management

 

Educator: Rudi Keggenhoff

Rudi is from Germany and studied in Germany to get his teaching degrees (one for teaching Y 5- 10 and another one for teaching Y 11 -13) in Geography and Sports. Rudi also has a Master’s degree in Sports. He worked in Germany for a couple of years as a teacher and then moved to the USA (where he was mainly a stay-at-home dad for his two sons) for about four years, before moving to NZ in 2003. Rudi did a postgraduate study with the University of Wellington and got his Primary School teaching diploma. After teaching further in schools, he started with Life Ed in 2015. 

"I love the philosophy of Life Ed and the message that Harold is standing for and shares. Having studied sports (which involves the human body and looking after our bodies, like eating healthy, doing exercise, looking after our wellbeing, etc.) I can easily relate to Life Ed’s teaching and programme. Furthermore, I love to visit schools and see the excitement, energy and motivation of the students when they come into Harold’s classroom. A lot of the time I also learn from the students either by them asking deep questions or inquiring more about the topic which in return makes me think, or just through their answers and sharing of experiences they encounter."

Educator: Nakita Anderson

Kia ora,

My name is Nakita and I am working alongside the legends Harold and Rudi in my region. I am Early childhood trained spending most of my teaching years in South canterbury in numerous roles, I have also spent some time in my earlier teaching years in Singapore.  

South Canterbury has always and will always be my home, I enjoy being involved in my community and making connections along the way. 

My Husband and I are raising our two beautiful girls (3 and 4 years old) alongside our very boisterous fur baby Walter. We love to go on adventures as a family especially camping and fishing. I enjoy reading, art and I am a lover of all things thrifted. 

Contact details

Chairperson:  Jeff Paul, 027 2436228, [email protected]

Educator: Rudi Keggenhoff, 027 433 2652, [email protected]

Educator: Nakita Anderson, 027 342 7203, [email protected]

Administration, funding and promotions: Jill Merritt, [email protected]