Local Support, Big Impact: SADD in Nelson-Tasman

The Nelson Regional SADD Workshop in week 3 of this term was a huge success, bringing together students from across the region and sparking fresh momentum for road safety action.

This was especially significant, as SADD activity in Nelson-Tasman has been fairly quiet over the past few years. For many of the schools who attended, this workshop was their first opportunity in some time to connect with other student leaders, hear about what’s working elsewhere, and start to imagine the kinds of initiatives they could lead in their own school communities.

A big part of this success was thanks to Melanie Allen from the Police, who played a key role in making it all happen. Mel visited secondary schools in the area over the first two weeks of term to personally invite students along and also organised the venue at Garin College with support from Careers Advisor Brenda Helliwell, an enthusiastic SADD advocate who has been supporting students at Garin College to get started.

On the day, Mel brought along some awesome interactive tools — fatal vision goggles, a breath test device, a speed laser, photo booth props, and a custom “spin the wheel” activity. Students loved trying them out and left with plans to bring Mel into their schools for future events, showing the real potential for ongoing partnerships.

Students attended from Waimea College, Motueka High School, Nelson College, Garin College, and Nelson College for Girls. It was fantastic to see such a strong mix of schools represented, with both well-established and brand-new SADD groups taking part.

We were also lucky to be joined by Rob Collins from Fire and Emergency NZ, who shared local opportunities for students to get involved with, and Savannah Smart-Pullyn from Digital Diligence, who is exploring the use of Virtual Reality for road safety education in collaboration with Police. Their contributions opened up fresh ideas for how students might bring more interactive and engaging learning into their road safety projects.

A highlight of the workshop was hearing from Nelson College students Leo and Chase, who spoke to the group about what their SADD team has been up to. Their experience in SADD was an inspiring example for students from newer groups, showing what’s possible when students take the lead and get creative with their projects.

With 14 students attending and plenty of energy in the room, it feels like the start of something special for Nelson-Tasman. What was once a quieter region for SADD is now showing signs of real momentum and renewed energy.

Community support has been hugely important in helping us make the right connections in Nelson-Tasman. This workshop is a great example of how amazing things can happen when local people who know the region and have the networks support our team, who often aren’t local to the area. It’s a powerful reminder of the “together” in our vision statement: Empowering young Kiwis to prevent loss on our roads. Together.

Looking ahead, we’re excited to build on this success with more opportunities in Term 1 of 2025. Workshops across the region will give students more chances to come together, share ideas, and strengthen the movement. With the enthusiasm shown at this first workshop, the future of SADD in Nelson-Tasman is looking bright!