Children at Mōtatau School are learning to be freshwater kaitiaki through an event involving Northland Regional Council, Mountains to Sea Conservation Trust, and local landowner Waipapa Ahuwhenua Trust.

Thirty-five children used the council’s Stream Health Monitoring Assessment Kits to test water quality in waterways on the Ahuwhenua Trust’s property in Opahi. The kits can be used to check nitrogen and phosphorous levels, water clarity, and the types and quantity of fish and insects present.

The testing day, held in mid-November, followed a classroom freshwater education session delivered by Mountains to Sea Conservation Trust through its Whitebait Connection programme, which teaches children about the freshwater environment, ecology and biodiversity, freshwater values, threats to the freshwater environment, and our responsibility to care for it.

The initiative was the brainchild of Waipapa Ahuwhenua Trust farm manager Riki Ngakoti, who wanted to equip the kids to be the freshwater kaitiaki of tomorrow as part of the trust’s commitment to environmental kaitiakitanga.

“I loved having the young enthusiastic tamariki exploring our waterways, learning in the environment then taking that learning to and from the classroom,” Riki says.

“It was pretty special that this was the first education programme to take place on the newly developed Waipapa Ahuwhenua Trust in Opahi.”

Riki said it was good to see what could be achieved through collaboration.

“I loved that this was once just a conversation between hapū and NRC that was brought to fruition by a collaborative group partnership between Whitebait Connection, NRC and the hapori of Ngāti Hine.”

Motātau School principal Donna Adams said the field trip was a great fit with their localised curriculum, Te Matauranga o Motātau, as well as the school’s House of Science kaupapa and their Kahui Ako (Community of Learning) challenges to make learning authentic, meaningful and in context.

“Everyone was engaged throughout the day. Having the equipment and resources available to use was a game changer because it made them feel like real scientists and data gatherers,” she said.

Rosie Palmer of Mountains to Sea Conservation Trust said “… it was really special having the students connect with what we had discussed in class about the importance of healthy freshwater environments for ourselves and our taonga species, and then to experience it in their own backyard, seeing the conservation efforts of whanau and the positive effect this has on the ecosystem.”

Northland Regional Council’s Stream Health Monitoring Assessment Kits are available to borrow free of charge (a $100 bond applies, which is refunded when the kit is returned in good condition). For more information about borrowing an assessment kit, please contact [email protected]