Enabling rural communities to thrive
Unlocking potential
Better together
2023 Rabobank Good Deeds Winner
Beaconsfield Primary School
Beaconsfield Primary School is a small country school located 13km south-west of Timaru. The school caters for students from year 1 to year 8 and has a roll of just over 100 with most students coming from farming families.
Rabobank and The Country were impressed by the school's entry which outlined their vision to revitalise a local wetland called Lake Spode. With the help of the community and the Good Deeds funding, the school plan to clear the area of overgrown bush, plant native trees and open up the space for the community to enjoy.
Supporting rural communities one good deed at a time
Previous Good Deeds Winners
2023 Beaconsfield School
Beaconsfield Primary School is a small country school located 13km south-west of Timaru. The school caters for students from year 1 to year 8 and has a roll of just over 100 with most students coming from farming families.
Rabobank and The Country were impressed by the school's entry which outlined their vision to revitalise a local wetland called Lake Spode. With the help of the community and the Good Deeds funding, the school plan to clear the area of overgrown bush, plant native trees and open up the space for the community to enjoy.
2022 Te Ranga School Bush Classroom
Located 15km southeast of Te Puke, Te Ranga School is a seven-teacher school with a roll of approximately 150 children.
In the tract of native bush next to its grounds, the school has developed a ‘bush classroom’ which they’re using to teach students about sustainable practices, biodiversity and sound ecological management. The children are involved boots 'n' all and are in charge of multiple projects running in the tract. The school is very much the hub of the local rural community and the bush area is also being used for other community events.
2021 Douglas Kids Club
A Kids’ Club set-up by local mums to provide local children with extra-curricular opportunities has been selected as the winner of the 2021 Rabobank Good Deeds competition.
The Kids’ Club is currently attended by 24 local kids between the ages of two and 12 and gives them an opportunity to get involved in a range of activities they’d usually have to travel a considerable distance to take part in.
2020 Waitaki Boys High School
Waitaki Boys’ High School is located in the Waitaki District of New Zealand’s South Island. With a roll of 450, the school has a proud heritage, and forward-looking and progressive approach to education.
The School Creek Restoration Project was the boys' vision to restore a natural creek that flows through the school grounds. Check out the video of the volunteer day where the Rabobank team helped out with this great project which deservedly won our Good Deeds 2020 competition.
2019 Dargaville School Gardening Club
Dargaville Primary School is the largest primary school in the Kaipara region on the West Coast of Northland. They have a roll of around 340 children and run a Garden Club that the children can participate in.
They focus on growing seasonal fruit and vegetables and cooking the produce available. The Garden Club spent their prize money and days labour on materials for the raised beds, a propagation table, fruit trees and a water tank to reduce their reliance on the water system.
2018 Whareama School
Whareama School is located 45km East of Masterton and is the hub and lifeblood of the surrounding community. The school is staffed by 3 teachers and has an ever increasing role of 45 kids.
The school utilised their prize winnings on finishing projects that the kids had put their heart and souls into. This included finishing a tree house, finishing off vegetable gardens, finishing the BMX track and using the labour to put a trampoline in the ground.
2017 Hakataramea Working Bee
The Hakataramea Valley is a unique farming region and despite the challenging climate it is renowned for producing quality livestock and produce. The Hakataramea Sustainability Collective wanted to re-create the once popular community area located at the lower end of the Hakataramea River.
Their goal was to ensure that the opportunity to enjoy the unique Hakataramea river was open to all. The collective spent their prize money and days labour on weed eradication, plants, planting and various
