Waikato primary school children spent a day at Raglan recently learning about marine biosecurity.
The 26 children from a school near Raglan – accompanied by their teaching staff – experienced a mix of learning activities at the Raglan Surf Life Saving Club and nearby Ngarunui Beach.
Enviroschools delivered the session with funding support from Waikato Regional Council.
“This event was an important opportunity for students to explore precious marine ecosystems and discover how we can protect them,” says Michelle Daly, senior education advisor and Enviroschools regional coordinator.
“It was a fun-filled day of activities and interactive learning for the children.”
The event was also an opportunity for Enviroschools to trial their new schools marine biosecurity learning materials before rolling them out to schools.
For the first part of the learning, children were briefed about the day and produced a ‘pool of knowledge’ visual display which summarised all the children’s thinking and knowledge of the topic before the learning started. The children had already had freshwater biosecurity training so were able to draw on that knowledge. They also watched a video to prepare for the marine activity on the beach.
Children divided into groups, moving around four interactive activities that included identifying species of shells using a shell key chart and a marine Invaders card game – a battle b/w invasive and native species.
A crab survival activity highlighted how species adapt to the environment and what happens when there are pest species. The children pretended they were crabs and had to decide their survival strategy faced with various scenarios.
A fishing game called ‘rescue the native’ involved children using a fishing line and magnet to pick up the photos of species they identified as native.
Following a quiz to see what they had just learned, children walked to a rocky part of Ngarunui Beach for a marine science activity.
Working in teams, they defined square metre areas using rope and hunted for marine species living in and around the rock pools. Children used reference guides to help identify the species they found and recorded the results.
“The Waikato Regional Council Biosecurity team is very pleased to be supporting Enviroschools to deliver events such as this one today in Raglan,” says Danielle Kruger, biosecurity marine and freshwater lead.
“A key part of our mission is to reduce biosecurity threats that impact our marine ecosystems in the Waikato rohe.
“Reaching out to children, who are the next generation, is super important to achieve our goals.”
Ms Kruger says events like this one in Raglan and around the Waikato help to increase children’s awareness and understanding of marine biosecurity.
“By being engaged, children are more likely to develop an interest and desire to protect our marine ecosystems,” she said.
Waikato Regional Council is also supporting Enviroschools to provide professional development for teachers, who will pass on their experience and learning to their students.
