Hawke’s Bay Tractor Trek – Helping Tamariki Think, Feel & Do Better

Across Hawke’s Bay, many children are carrying big feelings — worry, stress, frustration — without the words or tools to manage them.

Schools are doing their best, but mental wellbeing education is not fully funded, and support often arrives too late.

The Hawke’s Bay Tractor Trek is a community-powered fundraiser raising funds to bring practical, preventative mental wellbeing education into primary schools — especially those that would otherwise miss out.

Funds raised help deliver engaging live shows and child-friendly tools that teach tamariki how to:

• notice and name their feelings

• calm their bodies and brains

• build healthier, more helpful thinking

These are skills children can use immediately — in the classroom, at home, and throughout life.

This is not about crisis response. It’s about giving children skills early, before anxiety and stress become entrenched.

Teachers consistently tell us the impact lasts well beyond the visit:

children use the language, remind each other of strategies, and feel safer asking for help.

Every kilometre trekked, and every dollar donated, helps reach another school, another classroom, another child.

By supporting this Tractor Trek, you’re investing in tamariki wellbeing — and a stronger, healthier community for the future.