New Zealand Nature Heroes by Gillian Candler (Published by Potton and Burton) is a book I would have loved to have received as a child. New Zealand Nature Heroes is intended for an 8-14 years age group, it is pitched as ‘inspiration and activities for young conservationists’ and the book is exactly that. Each section … Continue reading New book invites children to be ‘nature heroes’ too
Friday is a big day for 13 students at Greymouth High School – and not just because it’s the last school day before the weekend. On Fridays the students spend all day studying Conservation for NCEA Level 3 with teacher Lara Thompson. And that means they often get to study outside the classroom. “Not all … Continue reading Greymouth course builds a passion for conservation work
In Taupō, Kids Greening Taupō are helping students of all ages to connect with nature and take part in real life conservation projects contributing to their community. Thea DePetris and Rachel Thompson are education coordinators for Kids Greening Taupō, an environmental education programme based on a model of Collaborative Community Education where schools work with … Continue reading Kids Greening Taupō fosters leadership and community collaboration
From Northland to Southland, in big and small towns and cities, schools across Aotearoa are putting up their hands to be kaitiaki of their playgrounds and local environments. Meet the 20 latest Predator Free Schools and find out how they intend to protect our native wildlife. We now have 51 schools around the country involved … Continue reading Latest schools to join our PF Schools programme
It’s been 6 years since Southland Community Nursery near Invercargill, opened its Education Centre and in that time thousands of people – particularly school children – have visited the property, explored the restoration area via the gravel tracks, learnt about local native plants and discovered a myriad of fascinating creatures in the ponds and native … Continue reading Southland couple committed to helping children learn about nature
Wainui Beach is a small, beachside community on the outskirts of Gisborne. In 2017 the students at Wainui Beach School made nesting boxes for their local little blue penguins. This year they’re putting their building skills to use again with a new project. “We’re building trap tunnels,” says Years 3 and 4 teacher, Nic Shand. … Continue reading Wainui Beach pupils use building skills to help wildlife
Lynmore School, in Rotorua, received funding as part of our Kiwibank School programme. Students from Room 1A provided us an update of what they have been up to in the last wee while. On the 1st of August, some students from Lynmore School in Room 1A decided to run a trapping information evening for the Lynmore … Continue reading Lynmore School raises awareness of trapping
St Joseph’s School in Waitara used to have a problem. The school is built on the site of an old riverbed and every winter their rugby field got boggy. So in 2010 they built their own wetland! Great solution – but that was only the beginning. “The wetland is about 10 metres wide and 100 … Continue reading St Joseph’s students keen to enhance school wetland
Bringing back the birdsong – note by note – is what around 350 Northland children experience each year by taking an Explore launch trip to the predator-free islands of Ipipiri in the eastern Bay of Islands and participating in an educational programme known as ‘Floating Classrooms’. “Floating Classrooms is a wonderful outdoor educational experience,” says … Continue reading ‘Floating Classrooms’ gives Northland children kaitiaki experience
The Nina Valley Restoration Group is 10 years old this season and in those 10 years, the Years 7 to 13 students from Hurunui College who make up the group have learnt an impressive array of kiwi-handling skills. The students not only know how to hold kiwi correctly and safely (those legs are strong!) – … Continue reading Nina Valley Restoration students celebrate 10 years
Has your school got a neglected patch of playground that would benefit from a make-over? Want to make your own garden or backyard more wildlife friendly? Maybe you’re looking for a weekend activity that adults and children can enjoy together. Why not make a lizard garden. It’s fun, it’s easy and we can show you … Continue reading Create a lizard friendly garden
St Andrews Primary is a rural school in South Canterbury where children and teachers have strong ties to their natural environment. They’ve recently become a Kiwibank Predator Free School – but that’s just the latest in an impressive lineup of conservation projects ranging from monitoring endangered mudfish to helping orphaned and injured harrier hawks and … Continue reading St Andrews Primary plans to trap predators and feed rescue raptors
Every three weeks, 2-3 senior students from most central Wellington high schools come together for an after-school workshop to help them hone the leadership skills they need to develop their own sustainable, environment-focussed enterprise or project. The workshops continue for the full school year, earning NCEA credits and are the latest initiative from sustainability and … Continue reading Papa Taiao courses develop leadership and sustainable enterprise skills
We commissioned local artist Erin Forsyth to help us create a stunning poster featuring some of our native species – Taonga o Aotearoa. Our aim is to get the poster into every classroom and DOC hut in the country to help remind people what we’re protecting by creating a predator free New Zealand. Most Kiwis will have a … Continue reading We’ve teamed up with NZ illustrator to create iconic wildlife poster
Got a ferret you’re struggling to trap? How about using a milk bottle top filled with milk for a lure? It worked a treat for one child taking part in the Forest Bridge Trust’s award-winning CatchIT schools programme. “Children are natural innovators,” says Liz Maire, educator for the Trust. “Some of them have discovered things … Continue reading CatchIT’s ‘natural innovators’ brimming with ideas for trapping
They’re some of the youngest members of Ahipara’s small seaside community, but the children of Ahipara Sandhoppers are doing everything they can to help their environment from picking up rubbish, to growing plants for butterflies, trapping predators and even deconstructing broken appliances for recycling. What’s more – these Kaitiaki Kids haven’t even started school yet! … Continue reading Ahipara youngsters lead the way
East of Kaitaia, near Doubtless Bay and overlooking the Mangonui Harbour, you’ll find Mangonui School. Currently it has just over 140 students in years 1-6 (ages 5-11) and, established in 1858, it is one of the oldest schools in Aotearoa/New Zealand. Teacher, Ryan Kiely says he can see the sea out his classroom window. “I … Continue reading Mangonui kids are creative and committed to helping kiwi
“We caught our first rat yesterday,” 9-year-old Abhinav announces proudly. “We’ve got rats, mice and hedgehogs at Summerland School.” “We found that out using tracking tunnels and chew cards,” adds Gabriel. “We used peanut butter in the traps,” says Ahmad. “They’re at different sites around the school, like shady areas.” “Most are around the borders … Continue reading First rat caught is just the beginning for keen Summerland School team
Last term Lynmore School in Rotorua took delivery of 10 rescue hens. “It was pretty cool,” says teacher Andrew Doyle. “They’re ex-battery hens. The rescuer rehabilitated them for a week or so, then we got them. They’re laying well. They pay their own way – laying about 6 eggs per day. We sell the eggs … Continue reading Birds, not rats rule the roost at Lynmore School
A large-scale predator project, the biggest of its kind in New Zealand, was launched in Taranaki today supported by more than $11 million from the Government. Taranaki aims to be the first predator free region in the country under the project, called Taranaki Taku Tūranga – Our Place, Towards a Predator-Free Taranaki and is led … Continue reading Towards a Predator Free Taranaki
Predator Free New Zealand Trust has selected the ten schools that will take part in the inaugural Kiwibank Predator Free Schools programme. Over 75 schools applied to be part of the programme and the Trust were impressed by the high calibre of applications and the exciting plans schools had to engage their students in the … Continue reading Kiwibank Predator Free Schools announced
The secret lives of Taranaki’s pet cats are currently being revealed – thanks to project funding from Curious Minds which has enabled the purchase of 60 cat harnesses fitted with GPS tracking devices. If you live in Taranaki and you’ve always wondered where your cat goes when it’s not at home, now is your chance … Continue reading Curious Minds project lets kids keep tabs on their tabbies
The Dotterels’ Last Stand by Sue Newman, beautifully illustrated by Paul A. Willis is a realistic and ‘almost true’ story of the challenges dotterels face in finding a safe nest-site. A pair of dotterels visit a number of familiar landmarks and buildings that will be familiar to Auckland children and the additional side-bar background information … Continue reading Book: The Dotterels’ Last Stand
Jon Tucker’s Those Kids series is set of linked sailing adventure books featuring some Kiwi and Aussie kids coping with unexpected challenges, whilst learning about contemporary environmental issues along the way. Targeted at year 6 to 9 student level, they are each around 200 pages of compelling high-interest content laid out in illustrated readable-length chapters. This structure … Continue reading An adventure series with an environmental message
‘When children’s author, Jon Tucker, was a teenager growing up in Nelson, he married the girl next door and they began to build a boat together; not just a dinghy or small sailboat, but an “old-fashioned, romantic” traditional ketch that they named ‘New Zealand Maid’. Jon and Babs later became teachers and had five sons … Continue reading Children’s author goes ‘predator free’ in latest adventure novel
Gerald Mannion has a story about the ‘moment of truth’ when he and fellow Tangihua Lions Lodge trustees realised just how much damage introduced predators had done to their forest. But first, a little background… Thirty years ago, the Whangarei Mid Western Lions, a bunch of local farmers, decided that all young people should have … Continue reading Tangihua Lions Lodge expands its outdoor programme to combat predators
Whio Forever is an integrated curriculum teaching and learning resource with the whio/blue duck as the real life context for learning. The resource covers multiple learning areas of the New Zealand Curriculum. It has been developed for primary school teachers, with two versions available – one for junior primary (years 1-4) and one for senior primary … Continue reading Whio Forever education resource
DOC’s Outreach and Education team have released their latest teaching and learning resource ‘Investigating animal pests in your green space’. This resource is targeted at primary schools (Year 1-6 students). Using this resource students can: Gather and interpret data about animal pests living in a local green space. (e.g. school grounds, local park/reserve, backyard) Identify and … Continue reading Investigating animal pests in your green space
With intensive pest control, the Doaks have witnessed a dramatic recovery of the native flora and fauna. In ‘their coastal slice’ the natural world has returned with a profusion of birdsong in the forest. This book is a plea for the conservation and protection of New Zealand’s wildernesses, reiterating the challenge made by Sir Paul … Continue reading Book: Bringing back the birdsong
Cloak Of Protection – the New Zealand conservation card game by Kakariki Games. To save our birds, you need to trade, draw & play to create a feather cloak of 15 cards in one bird realm: forest, settlement, sea, or extinct. But BEWARE! Each card sports some predators – will they threaten your realm? Fun … Continue reading Conservation Card Game
In the remote, rural valley of Uruti in North Taranaki, the 16 children at local Uruti School are bursting with pride. They’ve just taken out an Environmental Action in Education Award and have a handsome trophy to prove it. Uruti is a small school with a big community heart and when the children decided they … Continue reading Uruti children are Kiwi Kids
The mice, rats, stoats, ferrets and possums in Rodney have been dining in style recently and many paid for it with their lives. Bacon, peanut butter and even blue vein cheese were all on the menu as the children at Kaipara Flats, Tomarata and Tauhoa Schools experimented to find out what baits worked best to … Continue reading Gourmet Delights for Rodney Predators
When Kiwi kids are planning their future careers, there’s an option they may not have considered: working in the possum industry. New Zealand has tens of millions of possums running riot after being introduced here in the late 1800s, destroying native plants and gobbling up the resources needed by our vulnerable native species. But this … Continue reading Project Possum: it’s business time
In February 2015, as part of a maths project, the students of Elsthorpe School set up some possum traps in the area to see what happened. The results may surprise you… Elsthorpe School is a small, rural school in central Hawke’s Bay with just over 40 students. It’s surrounded by beautiful reserve land that’s filled … Continue reading School kids take on the possums