The 12 Marlborough teenagers taking part in the latest Project K programme went from facing challenges in the great outdoors to those in the urban jungle as their community challenge kicked off last week.

The students, aged 13 to 15, from Marlborough Boys' and Girls' Colleges, took to the streets of Blenheim in two teams of six for four hours on Friday to answer 88 questions and identify 17 locations. Questions ranged from how old the River Queen is to how ticket prices work at the Marlborough Civic Theatre.

Project K programme co-ordinator Sonya Sutherland said the challenge was aimed at getting the teenagers into the community, meeting people and finding out about the services around them.

Movie vouchers were up for grabs to the teams that got 400 points or more out of 1000, with the winning team earning McDonald's vouchers.

Both teams excelled, with the winning team amassing 940 points, just 20 ahead of the second team.

"The challenge went fantastically well and both teams ended up doing far more than we expected them to," Mr Sutherland said. "Neither team looked to slow down after 400 points."

The teams had a budget of $35 and were required to use a bus at least once. They were also allowed to make three calls from a cellphone during the challenge.

"It has been fun but tough," said Tawhiri Kamira, 14. "Some people are really helpful but not everyone."

Team mate, Kaley Noble, 14, said she found it awkward to approach strangers for information.

Ms Sutherland said the idea is to get them out of their comfort zones.

The group are scheduled to have a health and fitness day on Saturday before having a week off. The following week they will hear from community organisations about their work before deciding on a community project.

- The Marlborough Express

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