‘Both Sides of the Fence’ website shows value of outdoors

The educational website ‘Both Sides of the Fence’ has undergone a makeover, offering many new and improved features for students and teachers around New Zealand.

The interactive and curriculum-aligned resource, established by the New Zealand Walking Commission, now offers a new look home page, an improved image gallery and comprehensive teaching materials. Changes to the website, that encourages students up to Year 8 to think about responsible behaviour in the outdoors, were made following a site review and survey of teachers.

“The site review helped us to identify many different areas for improvement,” Mark Neeson, Commission Chief Executive says. “These have been completed and will make the site more engaging for teachers and students. As well as excellent suggestions for improvements, it was heartening to see many positive comments about the website.”

Resources on the website support English and Social Science learning areas and ‘education outside the classroom’ activities.

The website’s ebook is now more child friendly, with a focus on helping students to understand the messages in the ‘Outdoor Access Code’.

The Teachers’ Space also offers new classroom activities and resources, with curriculum-aligned activities and teaching notes for Year 1-3 students.

Further improvements are anticipated in the coming months, says Neeson.

Visit the website at www.bothsidesofthefence.org.nz