National Marine and Freshwater Education Wananga – Conference 2010
Theme - Mountains to Sea – Collaboration for conservation of our marine and freshwater environments in schools and communities.
Purpose
An inspirational professional development and networking opport...
Experiencing Marine Reserves coordinator Nicki visited all classes at Ruakaka Primary in Term 1, 2010 with marine treasures and the kina game.
Rooms 3 & 4 participated in the full EMR programme - snorkeling at the Whangarei Harbour Marine Reserve at Motukaroro during camp. This marine reserve is only just across the harbour from Ruakaka. Many students and parents knew there was a marine reserve somewhere in the Whangarei Harbour. After snorkeling at the site they knew all about it. "Snorkeling was great fun and there was a lot to see as well" a parent remarked.
The students arrived by car, bus and kayak to carry out an above water local investigation of the unprotected Ruakaka rivermouth. Unique and special Ruakaka River was the theme of the day with rotations discovering the many types of life present in the intertidal area, investigating the history of the area and identifying threats to the local marine environment. Students were amazed to learn of the New Zealand Fairy Tern and it's endangered status with approximately 36 individuals left in the world. More information can be found on the Fairy Tern here. Stories of whale - tohora strandings were told and the importance of the local marine environment for collecting kaimoana. Students also identified mangrove trees which had been cut down and learnt of the spreading mangroves closer to the entrance over what was white sand beach a few years ago.
Students conducted enquiries into a wide area of topics including sewerage, oil spills, rubbish and looked at what these threats are doing to the marine environment. Action projects included making video presentations on what what learnt about the Ruakaka Rivermouth, researching how the local marine area has changed by collecting letters from local residents. Rooms 3 & 4 are continuing the topic and plan to carry out class actions. Ideas are writitng letters to council about stormwater discharge, field trips to local farms to see how they manage the effluent and runorff from the land.
For more information on Ruakaka's EMR programme contact thier coordinator - nicki@emr.org.nz
