Coastal Taranaki School 2010
Two Coastal Taranaki School classes gained a heap of scientific know-how and an insight into the possible impacts of people, plants and penguins on their local waterways and coastal environments – with help from 60 Springs.
As part of this project, the year 7/8 students went on two fieldtrips to nearby coastal sites and participated in a penguin-themed day. On one trip they visited the popular surfing destination, Stent Road, which is also home to the region’s best coastal herb field. Coastal herbs, such as shore bindweed, native ice plant, native carrot, shore cress and a variety of glasswort, were all found at the site. The students discovered that these native species were being adversely affected by invasive introduced weeds from adjoining farmland and foot traffic from people. In response to this they suggested that better signage and education be placed at the site to increase awareness of the presence and importance of these precious plants.
On a second trip to Kaihihi Road, the students set out to investigate what sort of animals inhabited the site and what sort of impact any introduced animals may be having on the native wildlife. They set up tracking tunnels and by identifying the recorded footprints they confirmed the presence of rats, mice and hedgehogs in the area. All three of these introduced species are known to have a negative impact on native wildlife, including Little Blue Penguins. In an effort to provide more protection for the penguins the students built 14 nesting boxes and placed them along this stretch of coastal forest.
With help from 60 Springs educator Nathan Hills, a Year 9 class investigated water quality in the Kaihihi River. They began their studies in the classroom learning about the equipment they would be using and what they were going to measure. This was followed by a field trip to the river, where the students put their learning into practice using electronic equipment, such as conductivity and dissolved oxygen meters to measure the water temperature and pH levels. Students also used macroinvertebrate recording techniques, which helped them understand how animals can be indicators of water health. In a final lesson at school, the students evaluated all the data, which revealed that at that time of year and at that specific location, the quality of the water in their local river was high.
Coastal Taranaki School2009 – Waikirikiri Lagoon study
In 2009, two classes of Year 7/8 students from Coastal Taranaki School set out to get to know their local Waikirikiri Lagoon, undertaking research in the ecological monitoring of freshwater fish, frogs, land mammals, birds and water chemistry. The students produced a DVD called The Mysterious Lagoon and entered the results from the fish investigation into the EMAP Koura Kraze national database. Check out The Mysterious Lagoon, which features footage of the students testing water pH levels, discussing the importance of the Australian Bell frog in New Zealand, bug identification and more.