Northland kids join stars on ‘virtual adventure’ for health’s sake
About 22,000 tamariki (children) from around the region will work alongside their sporting heroes today to clock healthier habits in a virtual reality adventure challenge.
The 2022 Zespri Young and Healthy Virtual Adventure will include 1430 youngsters from 56 school classes across Northland as they join forces with celebrity heroes Ardie Savea, Ameliaranne Ekenasio, Kane Williamson and Samantha Charlton this week to participate in the programme.
The health and wellbeing programme is taking Kiwi tamariki on a virtual trip around the globe, instilling healthy habits along the way such as moving their bodies, eating extra fruit and vegetables, drinking more water, getting a good night’s sleep and reducing time on screens.
Kim Harvey, founder of the Young and Healthy Charitable Trust and Virtual Adventure, is delighted to kick off the adventure for the fifth year.
“We’ve now had over 120,000 kids through the programme, and each year we see incredible results with teachers, parents and the kids themselves telling us they have more energy, can focus better in class and feel better, which is all the more important as we head to the end-of-year sprint.”
The Virtual Adventure was created with the knowledge that healthy habits formed early set a child up for a lifetime of improved physical and mental wellbeing — something Harvey said had become more important as kids got used to long stints of schooling from home in recent years.
“This year we are so fortunate to be able to get out and visit so many more of our participants and with more tamariki being in classrooms, we have started our Roving Reporters campaign, so students can tell us the many stories of how they are using the Virtual Adventure on our private Planet WellBeing TV YouTube channel.
“We’ll also be engaging with some of our families to follow them post-programme to see how it continues to influence their choices.
“So, in addition to the newly upgraded programme platform and added ‘travel destinations’, there are some very exciting new elements this year.”
Classes taking part in the Virtual Adventure will work as a team to travel across the world. Along the way, they will be met by their sporting heroes and Asics ambassadors who will show them around and share some interesting facts about local history and geography, as well as some of their pro-health and wellbeing tips.
Participation is free thanks to the support of partners such as Zespri and Asics.
“The programme has been perfected for the digital generation with each child designing a unique avatar which they’ll see interacting with their classmates and the sports stars at every stop,” Harvey said.
“Better still, every real-world healthy choice — like moving their body, eating a piece of fruit or drinking water — comes with the instant reward of digital points for their class total.
“Over a five-week period, these actions start to become ingrained so the likelihood of continuing them is much greater than from a one-off lesson.”
The programme runs until Thursday, November 24.