“We are very disappointed to share that around 10.25pm on Friday night [September 4], a vehicle was driven across our grounds, causing significant damage to the muddy grass and tearing up the lawn,” the college wrote on Facebook.
The school said it was looking into the incident after the driver also drove over a bird nesting site.
“The vehicle was driven directly through an area where plovers were nesting, destroying eggs and impacting vulnerable newborn chicks.
“It is deeply frustrating to see this kind of thoughtless behaviour on our campus, especially when it impacts our local wildlife.”
A school field and a bird nesting area were damaged during the late-night incident. Photo / Whangaparāoa College
Security footage shows the vehicle speeding around the unlit field for about a minute and a half, skidding and circling across the grass.
Images released by the school show deep tyre tracks carved across the grounds, with large patches of grass churned into mud.
The school said it was gathering information about the incident and urged anyone who recognised the vehicle to come forward.
Security footage shows this vehicle causing damage to a field at Whangaparāoa College in north Auckland. Photo / Whangaparāoa College
Department of Conservation (DoC) Mainland Auckland operations manager Bec Rush said they had not received a report but the birds were likely spur-winged plovers, which were native but unprotected under the Wildlife Act.
Rush said it was nevertheless disappointing to see “reckless driving around wildlife nesting areas, whether wildlife is protected or not”.
“We would encourage measures to keep people away from the area to give the birds space to recover.”
If protected species were found to have been involved, the school should contact DoC, she said.
“If there are injured birds, contact a local vet or native bird hospital to seek care such as BirdCare Aotearoa.”