WORKSHOP 1: Rivers, terraces and floodplains (FULL DAY)

Full day. A field trip exploring sites along a local river from upper to lower reaches, followed by discussion of the wide range of achievement standards that can be addressed with reference to Wairarapa’s rivers and alluvial landforms. Participants will learn that much of the modern Wairarapa landscape is a result of the interplay of tectonic uplift and climate cycles over the past million years. They will explore how the modern river system evolves along its course; how human activities have disrupted the natural flows; the rationale behind current remediation strategies, and mātauranga pūtaiao linked to river processes and histories. Options for observation and data analysis will be discussed in the context of agricultural contaminants, toxic blooms, climate change and ecosystem health.

WORKSHOP 2: Mātauranga Māori (Rivers, terraces and floodplains) (FULL DAY)

Workshop 1 and Workshop 2 run together (so count as ONE full-day option ie you can select both to count as one day of your two days). Workshop 1 is led by Professor Chris Hollis and Joe Potangaroa (Potangaroa Education) will lead Workshop 2. Participants will be able to focus on the content of either or both workshops.

WORKSHOP 3. Wairarapa Fault and the Hikurangi Subduction Zone (FULL DAY)

Full day. A field trip to explore how tectonic forces at an active convergent plate boundary have shaped the Wairarapa landscape from the coastal accretionary wedge, across the forearc Wairarapa basin, to the frontal ridge of the axial ranges. We will examine how oblique slip along within the Hikurangi Subduction zones is manifested in thrust faulting in the coastal hills and strike-slip faults in the west, with particular focus on the Wairarapa Fault – renowned for the largest lateral offset ever recorded on Earth, up to 16 m in the 1885 earthquake. The workshop will also explore strategies for managing the risks associated with earthquake and tsunami hazard, both locally and within the wider western Pacific region.

Workshop Description

We will consider abiotic factors (temperature, reach dimensions, clarity, nitrogen), and biotic factors (invertebrates). This incorporates fair testing, as well as photos, measurements and tallies. 

Workshop Description

Workshop Description

Workshop Description

MostWORKSHOP 7: Controversy in Conservation

Workshop Description

Workshop Description

Workshop Description

Half-day workshop. In pre-European times the seas around Aotearoa were the main food source for most Māori. But having recently arrived, the earliest Polynesian settlers were used to spearing fish in clear tropical waters. In Aotearoa the murky seas must have been initially frustrating. Māori went on to develop the fishing hook beyond any other culture on the planet.

This session will look at examples of hooks, lures, traps, nets and aquaculture, looking at design, manufacture, functionality, and explore some of the tikanga and science around traditional Māori fish harvesting and enhancement methods. This content links to NZ Histories.

Workshop Description

Half-day workshop. New Zealand/Aotearoa is the envy of many countries, being the only country in the world with a quota-managed fisheries resource for all commercial species. In the long term, how sustainable is commercial and recreational fishing in this country?

We will look at Commercial Fish harvesting and the controls and strategies employed to do the job efficiently. How does this compare with Aquaculture? Is aquaculture going to be the answer to supplying consumer demand for seafood? Where will we end up? How will climate change affect the marine environment and the way it works? What effects will be seen on species we are used to having in our waters. Includes a Mussel dissection and a demonstration of mussel water filtering.

Workshop Description

Looking at how schools can investigate/discover what's going on below the surface. Exploring the undersea world can be problematic. That can either put you off trying or it can create a worthy challenge to try and come up with simple solutions to find out what is going on down there. Low-tech answers can lie in using inexpensive action cameras in smart ways, taking bottom samples, video transects, light traps, plankton sampling, water sampling (temp/salinity/pH etc), sediment deposition and using ROVs. Much of this gear can be designed by students and built in a school’s technology suite. Getting real-world data from the real world, is life experience stuff and its value cannot be underestimated.

Workshop Description