Sustainable Seas: LEARNZ

This field trip took place in March 2020 as part of Seaweek and in collaboration with the Sustainable Seas National Science Challenge.

Kaiako can use all the resources such as videos, diary posts & photos, and web conferences that were created during the field trip.

On this field trip you will travel to Ōhiwa Harbour in the Bay of Plenty. Here you will join experts who are developing a special tool to help manage our seas sustainably. This tool is ecosystem-based management (EBM). Your class will explore the development of EBM and how it can be applied in different areas to maintain the health and wealth of our seas.

"The learning was relevant to our own estuary study and at a level my Year 5/6 children understood. This field trip hooked them in; students became curious and built their own scientific understanding of how habitats thrive." - Tarnia Pilcher from Hampden Street School.

Activities from this field trip include:

• Talk to local kaitiaki who are combining mātauranga Māori and western science to understand human impacts on Ōhiwa Harbour and help restore this ecosystem
• Take a boat ride with researchers
• Help collect mussels and sea stars for analysis
• Investigate the role of mussels - a taonga species
• Work with scientists to design experiments
• Use instruments and technology to measure our marine environment
• Fly a drone to monitor a coastal area
• Explore kaitiakitanga in the marine environment
• Investigate marine ecosystem services such as providing food, and removing pollutants
• Meet and question researchers involved in the Sustainable Seas National Science Challenge

"It has provided authentic and real contexts for teaching and learning and really engages students. It tied in with what we had been learning around Sea Week and covered all the key competencies as well as many learning areas such as Science, Health, Reading, and Oral Language." - Lisa Davies from Red Beach School.

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Click on the link above to explore the resources for this trip, or visit the LEARNZ homepage for information about how to register for upcoming online field trips.