Welcome to the first edition of our conservation education newsletter - Pitopito Kōrero: Matauranga Ao Turoa - "snippets about Conservation Knowledge/Education". In this quarterly newsletter, we will share conservation stories and resources that align with upcoming events and seasonal shifts across the school year. We hope this newsletter will inspire you and our young people to learn about, get outside and care for our special natural environments. ~ DOC Outreach and Education team New Year, New Education Resources Using a local green space (e.g. school grounds or a local park/reserve) as a context, these new 'IN the environment' resources encourage primary and intermediate students to become citizen scientists and go outdoors, explore and connect to a local environment. We’ve designed the series so that each resource can be used by itself, or joined together to create a comprehensive inquiry unit. Resources 1-6 are focussed on identifying, investigating and connecting to a local green space. They include activities to help gather and interpret data about plant and animal species. Resource 7 (Enhancing biodiversity in your local environment) will support with understanding connections within your green space ecosystem, and developing a restoration plan. This leads onto taking action for the environment (Resource 8 – Tools FOR your local environment). We encourage educators to adapt and use ideas from these resources to suit students’ needs, inquiries and interests. “I use and promote these new resources wherever I can. Great to have action-focused resources linked into school’s own grounds plus all the other cool stuff!” ~ Gill Stewart, Wairarapa Enviroschools Facilitator View and download the resources by clicking on the images above. You can find all our resources on the Conservation Education website- Staff Spotlight Anita Anderson: Outreach and Education Manager What I’m currently working on... Toyota Kiwi Guardians – we’re encouraging families who don’t spend much time in the great outdoors to go on a range of awesome adventures located all around the country. We launched the programme last year and we are going to be doubling the network of sites this year. Plus children can be rewarded for doing some activities at home that all have positive conservation benefits. What I'm excited about in 2017... 2017 is shaping up to be a great year. There are some exciting initiatives like Predator Free 2050 and the War on Weeds that everyone can get involved in. Our Pest Animal and Pest Plant resources are a great way to introduce these topics to your students. What I love most about my role... Knowing that we are helping to connect a new generation of New Zealanders to nature – there is so much that is special and unique about New Zealand, and experiencing it is the first step towards loving it and ultimately wanting to protect it. Conservation Stars Hilltop School Weedbusters " We’re like Superman, except for nature… we’re nature HEROES!!! " ~ Samuel Richardson (student) Hilltop School Weedbusters (photo credit - Anna Elwarth) Weed clearing (photo credit - Anna Elwarth) Biodegradable tree protectors keep the rabbits out (photo credit - Hilltop School) Twice a term, Year 7 and 8 Hilltop School students do their part to restore and protect Oruatua Conservation Reserve, near the Tauranga-Taupō River. By attacking gorse, blackberry and broom with loppers, tree clippers, saws and weed killing gel, they have cleared the equivalent of three rugby fields of weeds since 2013. The students have learnt that you just can’t weed and walk away. The piles of weeds have to be removed or they regrow, and areas cleared have to be planted with native plants to prevent re-infestation. The new plants have to be watered and protected from rabbits. " We want to rebuild the once beautiful native bush from a weed dump to a breath-taking amount of native bush " ~ Zoe Hanford & Daisiah Porteous (students) Thank you to Hilltop School for sharing their amazing conservation story! Oceans and Waterways Seaweek is on 25 February to 5 March 2017, so we are shining a light on water-themed education resources. Visit the Seaweek website to find out about events happening near you- LEARNZ virtual field trip - Marine Mammals - Are we loving terehu too much? On this field trip during SeaWeek, you will find out about terehu (bottlenose dolphin) and other marine mammals (kekeno - NZ fur seal, maki - orca, and ika moana - whale). Our Own Gold Cost Explore the importance of sand dunes and the impact of losing them in this teaching resource. Harbours, Bays and Estuaries Learn about the species that depend on our estuaries - the places where freshwater and saltwater meet. Freshwater Board and Card Games Learn about New Zealand’s wonderful freshwater ecosystems with these great board and card games brought to you by Hastings Central School. Blue Planet Website with everything you want to know about H2O. Hauraki Gulf Posters 2017 You don’t need to live near the Hauraki Gulf to enjoy these posters- they feature species found around New Zealand's coastline. Young Ocean Explorers have developed an awesome, free Augmented Reality App to accompany the posters. Find the App by searching for “YOE Explore the Gulf” in the App store on your device. Water Pollutants on Trial In this activity, students research the effect of common pollutants on our waterways and hold a mock trial to determine the worst pollutant in the country.
Noteworthy Nature dates, programmes, competitions SeaWeek February 25th - March 5th Whio Awareness Month All of March UN World Wildlife Day March 3rd World Water Day March 22nd Through Young Eyes - anyone aged 10-24 years can enter a photo competition for the world’s youth celebrating UN World Wildlife Day 2017. The prize is a trip to New York! Young Reporters For The Environment - Litter Less programme - aims to empower young people to take a stand on environmental issues they feel strongly about and to give them a platform to articulate these issues through writing, photography or video. Whio Forever Education Resource - online professional learning for teachers - 6 April 2017, 4:00–4:45pm. Join Shanthie Walker and Lyn Rogers (Science Learning Hub) in this professional learning session introducing the Whio Forever resource, and discover why the whio/blue duck is so important to New Zealand. This conservation education resource was created in partnership between the DOC and Genesis Energy. In the session we will use the resource to model a process for student inquiry, using the whio as the context for learning. This is the first of four webinars that can either stand alone or be viewed as a series. All participants will receive hard copies of the resource. View the resource online at www.doc.govt.nz/education-whio We would love to hear about your own conservation teaching and learning experiences, and get some feedback on what you think of this newsletter. Want to access the full range of DOC education resources? |