Great Barrier Island

Great Barrier Island Community Support

Schools on Great Barrier Island joined together to participate in the Experiencing Marine Reserves (EMR) programme in 2007, and had a fantastic time.
The EMR programme was extremely well supported by the local GBI community. One Principal commented that they had never seen that level of input and participation from parents before for something school-related. Parents that had never visited the school before turned up to take their students snorkelling. On GBI the sea is greatly valued as a traditional kai moana gathering area. Some parents noted that because of this they didn’t take the time to appreciate and teach their children about the marine life. Participating in the EMR programme with their children gave them this opportunity which they valued. One parent commented they were now going to take the time to do that more often.

EMR Follow-up Action: Shellfish Surveying

Waiheke and Great Barrier Island schools have started regularly surveying shellfish numbers and sizes on their local beaches as part of their follow up actions for the EMR programme. This has been supported by the Department of Conservation. Gathering real, relevant data to assess the health of our marine environment has proven to be a practical and fun way for students to further develop their knowledge and understanding.

By counting the shellfish at the same places each year it is possible to establish if the numbers on the beach are going up or down. Then it can be determined if too many shellfish are being taken, or if the shellfish are being affected by what happens on the land. Support from Department of Conservation scientists to design sampling procedures has helped to ensure accurate, relevant data collection. Each site has been surveyed and transect lines have been mapped using aerial photos and GPS technology to ensure the same sites are sampled each year.

Students and teachers have enjoyed learning about the habits and physiology of shellfish, especially carnivorous whelks. The concept of everything being interrelated and the impact of human activities is reinforced. The importance of following correct scientific processes to ensure accurate data is immediately grasped by students. Follow up classroom work has often been based around statistics, with teachers appreciating the ability to use real data that students have collected to create graphs and tables. Great Barrier Island students were especially proud that new, larger measuring equipment needed to be made because the size of their shellfish was so much larger than Auckland’s!