Kāhui ako become citizen scientists to monitor our ocean health

Ākonga looking closely to identify what is already living in the intertidal zone at Worser Bay.

Plankton nets, Marine Metre Squared quadrats, settlement plates, underwater baited video stations and photogrammetry are becoming the tools of trade for ākonga across Te Kāhui Ako o Motu Kairangi, as they take action to restore marine ecosystems around Worser Bay in Te Whanganui a Tara Wellington.

“A few years ago, we joined forces with Worser Bay Boating Club to establish the Boat and Beach Wise Trust and since then we have been working together to create a local curriculum that gives our ākonga the opportunity to take action in their community,” explains Jude Pentecost, principal of Worser Bay School and lead principal of the kāhui ako.

“Our latest focus has been on working with the club, Yachting NZ and Sport NZ to further develop a module called Moanamana, which is all about ākonga acting as kaitiaki of the marine environment by restoring marine ecosystems in Worser Bay.”

Moanamana was created as part of the ‘In Our Backyard’ project – a partnership with the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE), the Ministry of Education, and four National Sporting Organisations.

As part of Moanamana, ākonga research the impact of pollution, climate change and overfishing on marine ecosystems. They take a lead role as citizen scientists, helping to establish NZL Blue Belt sites to protect marine biodiversity and restore low stocks of marine life in their area.

In time, the network of NZL Blue Belt sites will become the marine environment equivalent of Predator Free New Zealand, helping to restore the mana of Moana by providing stepping stones to marine reserves around our coastline.

Ākonga checking what is living under the water around Worser Bay.

Kaiako partner on development

Throughout 2023, kaiako from Te Kāhui Ako o Motu Kairangi have been working with scientists from the New Zealand Marine Studies Centre at Otago University and Coastal People Southern Skies Centre for Research Excellence to develop and test the NZL Blue Belt Ocean Health Monitoring Toolkit.

“We’ve really enjoyed working with kaiako from across the kāhui ako to develop and test a set of tools that ākonga can use to monitor ocean health as they help their communities restore their local marine ecosystem,” says Sally Carson, director of the New Zealand Marine Studies Centre.   
 
“The main tool in the kit is Marine Metre Squared (Mm2) which ākonga use to count living organisms in the area between the high tide and low tide marks. Alongside Mm2 ākonga can also use photogrammetry to make a three-dimensional digital model of the area they are monitoring,” explains Sally.  

The other tools in the kit are:

• Plankton community monitoring in fixed locations
• Water temperature monitoring in fixed locations
• Sub-tidal biodiversity monitoring using quadrats, transects, and underwater video cameras
• Settlement plate monitoring
• Baited underwater video monitoring.

From 2024, Yachting NZ – with support from Healthy Active Learning advisors and community connectors in Regional Sports Trusts – will begin to establish further NZL Blue Belt sites with sailing clubs and clusters of schools around the country. The next five sites are planned for Whakatū Nelson, Whakaraupō Lyttelton, Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, and Whangārei.

Each NZL Blue Belt site will use the NZL Blue Belt Toolkit to monitor ocean health each term during the school year with data stored in a way that allows ākonga to compare their observations over time and place. 

Once they have a handle on what is happening to the marine environment at each NZL Blue Belt site, they will set up ongoing habitat restoration projects such as the seaweed nursery, paua hatchery, penguin hotel, snorkel trail and anemone garden that ākonga have underway at Worser Bay.

Find out more about Moanamana at runa-yachtingnz.org.nz/moanamana(external link).  

Final instructions for ākonga as they prepare for a snorkelling session at Worser Bay with the team from Mountains to Sea Wellington.