Ever wanted to bring back native birds and plants to your local area? It's very difficult to do on your own, but how do you go about making it a community effort? Schools are a focal point for many communities and many people like to help with projects initiated by their school. Can you come up with a vision and a plan? Do you need experts to help, and are they in your local community or do you need to reach out further? Do you have a suitable location? Do you need permission?
On this field trip, you will go to Tiromoana Bush and follow its journey and see what the future will look like. You will learn how the restoration project started, as well as who has been involved and why. You will discover what people think about Tiromoana Bush and its associated walkway, then come up with a rating which demonstrates the value of Tiromoana Bush as a community project and community amenity.
To prepare for this field trip, LEARNZ content will support inquiry into:
- Native habitats
- Native plants
- Native birds and animals
- The Carbon Cycle and the importance of plants
- Kate Valley landfill
- Restoration projects
- Tiromoana Bush
- Community recreation as part of restoration projects
- Ecological restoration and sustainability
During this field trip you will:
- See Andrew's tweets on twitter
- See what's involved in getting an area restored
- investigate the relationship between Kate Valley landfill and Tiromoana Bush
- Get familiar with the vision for Tiromoana Bush
- Take stock of the native plants at Tiromoana Bush
- Take stock of the native birds at Tiromoana Bush
- Find pest species in Tiromoana Bush and learn how to get rid of them
- Get up close to plants, animals, birds, and insects that live in Tiromoana Bush and find out why they are adapted to living here
- Discover how everything is interconnected; plants, animals, people, the Earth, the air
- Go on the Tiromoana Bush walkway and give it your own rating as a recreational activity
- Learn about how the success of Tiromoana Bush is measured
After the field trip, challenge yourself to:
- Find out which native plants are suited to your area
- Find out which native birds live in your area, or used to
- Find out which pest species are a problem in your area
- Learn how to get rid of pest species in your area
- Invite a botanist, zoologist or conservation worker to talk to your class or school about ecological restoration
- Come up with an idea for a new recreation amenity in your area
- Start your own community ecological restoration project
Where you will go
Tiromoana Bush makes up most of the valley immediately below the Kate Valley landfill in North Canterbury. The valley drains out to the Pacific Ocean and was once covered in thick coastal forest before being cleared for farmland. Now, TransWaste Canterbury is undertaking an ecological restoration project to re-introduce native plants, restoring wetland and forest habitats. Native plants will provide habitat for native birds and other native species to repopulate the area. The Tiromoana Bush walkway already provides stunning views out over the Pacific Ocean but will increasingly be a more ‘New Zealand’ experience as the native plant and animal populations increase. Tirimoana Bush is planned to be an asset to the community, for generations.
Learning Areas/Levels
Science: Living World Levels 2-4, Planet Earth and Beyond Levels 2-4
Social Sciences: Social Studies Levels 2-5
Social Studies: Place and Environment Levels 2-4, Continuity and Change Levels 2-4
For further information: http://rata.learnz.org.nz/summary.php?vft=katevalley183
Activity ideas
Use these Hub resources prior to the virtual field trip to deepen student engagement: