School pupils invited to share favourite outdoor spots

<h4>A national competition celebrating New Zealand’s great outdoors beginning today&comma; with students encouraged to photograph&comma; draw or describe their favourite outdoor places&period;<&sol;h4>&NewLine;<p>The annual Top Outdoor Spot competition is hosted on the New Zealand Walking Access Commission’s &lpar;NZWAC&rpar; <a href&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;bothsidesofthefence&period;org&period;nz" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank">Both Sides of the Fence<&sol;a> education website&comma; and will feature the photos&comma; drawings and descriptions in a <a href&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;bothsidesofthefence&period;org&period;nz&sol;Top-Outdoor-Spots" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank">public gallery<&sol;a>&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>NZWAC chief executive Eric Pyle said the competition was a good way for children to celebrate their love of the outdoors and to consider what makes the outdoors special to them&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Enjoyment of the outdoors is a big part of our culture&comma; and this competition helps young people to treasure the tradition of outdoor access Kiwis enjoy&period;&&num;8221&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>First&comma; second and third place will be chosen in categories for best photo&comma; best drawing&comma; and best description&period; Prize sponsors this year include a number of organisations that have supported the  competition in previous years including Skellerup&comma; Macpac&comma; the Mountain Safety Council and the Cancer Society NZ&period; Publishers Potton &amp&semi; Burton and sporting goods company Packaworld are also sponsoring the event this year&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;We’re really privileged to have such great outdoor companies and organisations helping us promote the competition&comma; with great prizes that kids will love&comma;” Mr Pyle said&period; <&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The Top Outdoor Spot competition will run from January 30 to May 7&comma; 2017&period; While the competition is designed primarily for children in years four to eight&comma; any student enrolled in a New Zealand school is eligible to enter and win&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The Both Sides of the Fence education <a href&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;&lpar;www&period;bothsidesofthefence&period;org&period;nz&rpar;" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank">website<&sol;a> supports teachers with animated videos&comma; an e-book and curriculum-aligned outdoor education materials to help primary and intermediate school teachers introduce students to responsible behaviour in the outdoors&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;