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December 2003

Preparing for 2004

This year is drawing to a close so its time to start planning waterways activities for 2004! A good way to start the year off and meet lots of like-minded people could be by attending NZAEEs Partnerships for the Planet conference. We know youll come back inspired to take action, so information on both the conference and future funding opportunities is in the Web links section. Next, were planning a new 2004 initiative called March Monitoring Month (MMM). Throughout March well highlight a new waterrelated learning experience for each day (stories, worksheets, activities, web sites, etc). Teachers can pick and choose from these and gradually build up to World Water Day on 22 March when we hope the Pollution Detectives will be out in force again. Well be introducing a new test to add to the Pollution Detectives repertoire Dissolved Oxygen Testing. The article by Stephen Moore tells you all about the importance of dissolved oxygen to stream life and reveals the source of free DOTs. Also in 2004 we will be working in partnership with Wild About New Zealand to provide a new and improved database you can read about it in the Droplets section. So start the year with a conference to get you inspired, seek out some funding, link in with MMM, get some free DOTs, and store your data in a Wild new place! Of course, if youre still trying to finish off this year, you may find some assessment ideas useful (see Droplets) and the stress management technique weve included might help as well!

The importance of dissolved oxygen

Freshwater invertebrate and fish communities are affected by many water quality factors. Nutrients or toxins are often the prime suspects when the aquatic fauna shows signs of stress, but often the problem may be related to dissolved oxygen rather than contaminant levels. Freshwater animals obtain oxygen in a variety of ways. The sensitive mayfly Coloburiscus requires the stream current to bring a constant flow of oxygen-rich water past its external gills. The damselfly Xanthocnemis and the stonefly Zelandobius wave their tail gills in the water if the current is slow. The tolerant midge Chironomus is blood red with the same type of oxygencarrying pigment found in our blood, helping them to retain oxygen despite their oxygen-poor muddy habitats. Syrphid fly and mosquito larvae breathe air from the water surface through snorkel-like tubes, and this allows them to survive in some very poor quality waters. Water quality guidelines often state that oxygen levels should remain above 5 milligrams per litre, or 80% saturation. Slow flowing streams provide little physical aeration of the water and oxygen levels may naturally fall below guideline levels. Slow flow and lack of shade also result in stream warming, and warmer water holds less dissolved oxygen. Decomposing organic matter and plant respiration at night also consumes oxygen from the water. If you find abundances of the larger mayflies, stoneflies and caddisflies in a stream, you can be confident that the stream has a high dissolved oxygen concentration. Chironomus and syrphids are only likely to be abundant in low dissolved oxygen waters. In fact, if you find syrphids in a stream you should avoid contact with the water and notify the regional council! Thanks for this article and for the pictures go to Stephen Moore, our expert from Landcare Research.

Coloburiscus

Xanthocnemis

Chironomus

Syrphid fly larva

Schools can test dissolved oxygen levels in streams using DOTs (dissolved oxygen tablets). NWP will be giving away free DOTs next year youll need to look out for the notice in the Education Gazette.

Droplets from our web site

Data, data everywhere but not a graph to be seen What do you currently do with all the data and information you collect from your stream tests stuff it in a box, bury it in a folder in your computer, give it to kids to put in their books? If only there was a safe and secure database to store it in! The wait is nearly over. NWP and Wild about New Zealand are working on a database that can be used by any group in the country youll be able to record all your Pollution Detectives information as well as data collected from tests including nitrate, phosphate and dissolved oxygen. By using the database over a period of time youll be able to compare data from different trips, create graphs, look for trends and use information to report on the health of your adopted waterway. The database will be available on this website soon, but in the meantime, take a look at http://www.wildaboutnz.co.nz for more information about new water quality tests, and Pollution Detectives kits. Experience the life of a kokopu (native fish) through an activity Streaming Waters developed by Environment Waikato in their Rivers and Us programme and adapted by Mary Loveless, Leyette Callister, Lynette Brown and Faye Wilson-Hill. In this activity, students take on various roles (trees, macroinvertebrates, fish, aquatic plants, landowners and developers) and experience first-hand the impact of stream degradation. What better way to kick off a new water unit in 2004? Click here to fine-tune your acting skills! Assessment Ideas Developing a board game can be used to assess learning outcomes. To make it simple, provide the students with the board game structure (eg, snakes and ladders) and ask them to write the cards for it (positive and negative impacts on stream life). Students could finish the unit by presenting their games to other classes. Its also a neat way to make links with literacy, for example oral, written and visual language giving instructions. Click here for an example.

When students from Naenae Intermediate Venture Class 2000 researched board games they discovered that the most popular game to date is Monopoly, so they developed their stream water game around this theme. Hard to imagine but they did it! More ideas on assessment Heather Bell has used a debate format for assessing her students where each student represents the views of a range of different water-users. We have also put online simple assessment sheets devised as formative and summative assessments relating to healthy streams. Click here for more details. Money, money, money! BOC has published its list of successful funding applicants for the first half of 2004 (next application round will be early 2004). They will be funding Te Pahu School, Kaipatiki Ecological Restoration, La Fontaine Stream, Watson Creek Restoration, and Ngatimoti School. Click here for more details. Janice Clothier-Cowley is a teacher at Ngatimoti School, one of the schools to receive BOC funding for 2004. She will be assisting Freddie Blake, a pupil from Room 3, to organise purchasing potting mix and seedlings for ongoing improvement of the local stream. Its been a great year for Janice shes also been awarded a New Zealand Science, Mathematics and Technology Teacher Fellowship and will use her year to develop a greater awareness of the importance of riparian plantings and the management of waterways through an involvement in Integrated Catchment Management projects. Good luck Janice we look forward to hearing of your progress.

Case study: Waikino to Waiora restoration of Fulton Creek

This is a 10-year project using funds from a BOC where theres water grant. This year, Year 13 Social Biology students at Marlborough Girls College, with the guidance of teacher Ally Jerram, continued the restoration of Fulton Creek (which runs between Marlborough Girls College and Bohally Intermediate School). The 2003 class have made their own contribution by: two major cleanups in the creek cutting around and tidying the 2002 plantings creating some stony habitat in the creek monitoring six sites along the creek with the help of the Marlborough District Council collecting data on nitrate and phosphate levels, faecal coliforms, pH, dissolved oxygen monitoring macroinvertebrates at six sites planning and carrying out further plantings of Carex, cabbage trees and kowhai trees. In 2004 the course gets a change of name Year 13 Environmental Biology, and Waikino to Waiora will continue as part of their curriculum.

Students at Marlborough Girls College planting cabbage trees at Fulton Creek.

Case study: Water in Canterbury

Water is crucial to our well-being. In a dry region such as Canterbury it is vital. As people get to grips with, and seek solutions to regional and local water issues, the importance of good information and understanding is paramount. Water education is alive and well in the region. Environment Canterburys water education programme, Waitaha Wai Water of Canterbury began last year and Christchurch City Councils Learning through Action programme and Lincoln Universitys Waterwatch Kaitiaki Wai are well established. All programmes and resources are available free to schools. Many schools partake in the programmes to discover firsthand how healthy (or not healthy) their local waterways are. The programmes are action-based and follow the EE Guidelines. Earlier this year David Bellamy helped launch a new Environment Canterbury initiative called Living Streams. Living streams is a community-based programme involving schools, which aims to maintain and improve the health of Canterburys lowland waterways. Schools within Living Streams catchments have already come on board and will participate in a fully facilitated programme which has been aligned with the Waitaha Wai programme. The initial Living Streams catchments are Te Waihora/Lake Ellesmere and Geraldine/Waihi. Over the coming years more catchments will become involved.

Art work from the senior winner of a promotion for Environment Canterburys Living Streams programme.

Click here to read an article written by Year 8 students from Waikuku School about their work with Phillipa Gardner from Environment Canterbury.

Web links
Environmental Education Conference Dont miss out on this biannual conference on 1417 January 2004 in Christchurch. Its a great chance to broaden your knowledge of what is happening in the field of environmental education. But be in quick to register, places are limited and are filling fast. Go to: http://www.conferenceteam.co.nz/nzaee/registration.asp Upcoming Funding Opportunities ACI Glass Environmental Fund are calling for expressions of interest by 31 March 2004 for their next funding round. The fund is open to any kindergarten, primary, intermediate or secondary school and supports projects that stimulate ongoing environmental awareness and behaviour change. For a full list of fund criteria, go to: http://www.recycleglass.co.nz NZ Hydrological Society are currently developing a set of 3 posters about New Zealand water resources which will be made available to secondary schools before the end of this year. Go to: http://www.hydrologynz.org.nz Rivers and Us online Environment Waikatos new and improved river study programme is now available online. Go to: http://www.ew.govt.nz/ educationprogrammes/schools/teachers/classroomunits/rivers.htm Environmental Education Expo A collective of organisations including Environment Waikato, Hamilton City Council, the Enviroschools Foundation and School Support Services, will run the first Environmental Education Expo. The Expo is planned for 1819 March 2004 at the Hamilton Gardens. If youd like to either exhibit your programme or attend as a participant, please contact Dean King, Schools Programme Coordinator at Environment Waikato by phoning: 07 856 0555 ext 8970 or emailing: dean.king@ew.govt.nz

And finally
Just in case youre in the midst of a very rough day, heres a stress management technique that has been recommended in all the latest psychological texts: 1. Picture yourself near a stream. 2. Birds are softly chirping in the cool mountain air. 3. No one but you knows your secret place. 4. You are in total seclusion from the hectic place called the world. 5. The soothing sound of a gentle waterfall fills the air with a cascade of serenity. 6. The water is crystal clear. 7. You can easily make out the face of the person youre holding under the water !

For further information contact the NWP coordinator:

Kathryn Hicks ph (04) 470 5760 fax (04) 473 1841 email kathryn.hicks@rsnz.org http://nwp.rsnz.org