Comcol North Canterbury

12/06/2026

LEAP is a 20 week course with the opportunity to gain a New Zealand Certificate in Primary Industry Skills (Level 2) Qualification and 60 credits towards NCEA Level 1 and 2.
✔️Gain valuable life skills
✔️Opportunity to enjoy the great outdoors
✔️Prepare for further education, employment or training
✔️Be part of an inspiring community
✔️Develop teamwork and communication skills
✔️Plan for an exciting new future.​​
If you would like more information on this course, please contact us on 0800 60 50 60 or visit our website comcol.ac.nz. Next course starts 27 July 2026. 🙂

29/05/2026

Our Monarch Butterfly Project is underway! 🦋

Comcol’s students have been involved from day one. They planted the Swan Plants as homes for the caterpillars, carefully relocated them as they rapidly depleted their own food source, and even acted as safe “landing platforms” for butterflies while their wings dried.

It’s been a reminder for our rangatahi that growth happens step by step. Watching these Monarchs transform mirrors the journey of many of our students, developing new skills and growing more confidence with the right care and support. 🌱

A big thank you to the Comcol staff for your enthusiasm and support in getting this project off the ground!

Organisations doing good work to build and support Monarch Butterfly numbers includes Moths and Butterflies of NZ Trust

06/05/2026

Some of the 330 trees that we picked up from Riverside Horticulture on Friday, that were kindly gifted by the Waimakariri Biodiversity Trust earlier this year.

Lots of great trees. Our LEAP Tutor, Sorrell, is very excited to plant the Lancewoods. Many thanks to the Waimakariri Biodiversity Trust and Riverside Horticulture.🙂

29/04/2026

We provide a FREE Youth Service for 16-19 year- olds offering guidance and support to help young people into education, training, work based learning and more.

​​​Our focus is on supporting our taiohi/young people into education, training and work-based learning- but we do much more. Our youth coaches provide intensive, tailored support to identify their goals and find the best path to reach them.

If you or someone you know age 16-17 yrs needs support to get into employment, into education, or further training, contact us on 0800 60 50 60 or visit our website comcol.ac.nz

27/04/2026

Comcol North Canterbury Youth Coach Shannon meeting new arrival Frosty the Gypsy Cob. Thanks to Kirsten Higginson K Higginson Barefoot Trimming for lending him to us to try for our Equine Connect programme. Much appreciated. He's beautiful. 😊

13/04/2026

Our LEAP students gaining new skills, learning how to use different types of equipment, while working in our native corridor. 🙂 Our next LEAP course starts July 2026. If interested, call us on 0800 60 50 60 or visit our website comcol.ac.nz

09/04/2026

Comcol North Canterbury LEAP students continuing their learning about health and nutrition for physical work by making their own healthy lunches, including their own burger buns. There were some impressive results. 😊 Our next LEAP course starts July 2026. If interested, call us on 0800 60 50 60 or visit our website comcol.ac.nz

31/03/2026

Visitors to Comcol North Canterbury often say things like 'this is amazing, we didn't know this was here', so we have put together a short video to walk you through our world. Hope you enjoy it. We do. 😊

24/03/2026

Comcol North Canterbury was pleased to be part of the Grow & Tell trail, on Sunday 22 March, which was designed to provide an authentic look at local food resilience. It was a picture-perfect day and great to have so many of the public coming through to see what our staff and students have created. Thank you to Food Secure North Canterbury for organising the event. We are always happy to share what we have, so if you or someone you know would like to take a look around, let us know. 🙂

10/03/2026

Gillian Hall | Trailblazers – Paralympics New Zealand

Gilly Hall (late wife of Comcol Director Tony Hall) played a significant role in the early years of Comcol (Community Colleges) supporting Tony and staff, particularly in our sport programmes. Gilly was also passionate about developing a pathway for disabled people to discover the freedom and joy of skiing. Just before the start of the 2026 Winter Paralympics, Paralympics New Zealand put together a tribute to Gilly and her remarkable legacy. This was filmed recently at Tony’s home in Waikuku.
Paralympics New Zealand - Nobody has made a more significant contribution to the sport of Para alpine skiing in Aotearoa New Zealand than the late Gillian Hall QSM. Through the voice of her husband, Tony, her daughter, Anna, and others in the snow sports community, we reflect on her extraordinary influence.
Please click on the link to hear Gilly’s story.

Gillian Hall | Trailblazers - Paralympics New Zealand

Source: Paralympics New Zealand

Nobody has made a more significant contribution to the sport of Para alpine skiing in Aotearoa New Zealand than the late Gillian Hall QSM. Through the voice of her husband, Tony, her daughter, Anna, and others in the snow sports community, we reflect on her extraordinary influence.     Quite sim...