We would like you to get creative and stretch your imaginations for our last activity for the Critter Challenge series. We challenge you to design your dream stream! Extra points for out of the box designs that create a healthy and safe environment for our precious freshwater taonga. You can use whatever medium you like, skies the limit.
Thank you to all of those who participated in our Critter Challenge Quiz. It was a tight race for the top spots! We hope you enjoyed testing your freshwater knowledge and learning something new in the process.
Test your New Zealand freshwater knowledge and be in with a chance to win some cool prizes! Follow the link below to take part in our freshwater quiz.
Thank you all so much for submitting your wonderful creations and helping to spread awareness for our awesome native freshwater critters.
Congratulations to the week one Critter Challenge winners
It's competition time!
Over the next three weeks we will be running a competition to get you learning about our amazing freshwater environments and what lives there! This week's activity is our 'Critter of the Day' colouring page.
All delivery and events are currently postponed until further noitice as we are in ALERT LEVEL 4.
The recent global COVID-19 pandemic has shaken our society’s fabric to its core and we are facing huge social and economic challenges as we navigate this new world. Massive behaviour change has been forced upon us and stripped many simple freedoms that were once taken for granted. New Zealanders have shown remarkable resilience and adaptability through this challenging time.
When Lauren Geer noticed rubbish flowing through her local river, she knew she needed to find a solution.
The Te Pahu School student has invented a rubbish collector, The Rubbish Taniwha, which has won three awards at the NIWA Waikato Science and Technology Fair.
Northland has the highest rate of volunteering in New Zealand. Around 37 per cent of the adult population volunteer for about four hours per week on average, according to Volunteering Northland. Today we introduce you to one of our selfless volunteers.
Jordan MacDonald probably didn't expect running a native plant nursery would lead to learning a new language.
2020 heralds hope and anticipation for a Takahiwai stream thanks to hundreds of volunteers and locals who have helped Whitebait Connection (WBC) breathe new life into the waterway.
It is widely known that native fish populations in New Zealand are in decline, which is partially due to the damage we have done to the spawning habitat of īnanga. This species makes up over 90% of the whitebait catch, is an important food source for many creatures (incuding us), and can act as an important indicator of waterway health. Unfortunately, the habitat needed for their eggs to survive is often damaged or absent. Such is the case for the Takahiwai Stream…or is it?
For the landowners along Duck Creek, restoring the stream to its former glory has been a labour of love. First, the mature pine trees along the banks were removed, then native seedlings planted and other weed species managed. The icing on the cake was to remediate a perched, box culvert on the stream that was preventing migratory native fish from accessing wetland habitat upstream.
The landowners made two previous attempts to create fish passage up the culvert but high flows during flood events destroyed their hard work. Thanks to funding from Auckland Council Healthy Waters, and through the Whitebait Habitat Restoration Project managed by the Whitebait Connection, this barrier has now been fixed.
Featherston pupils led their community in showcasing an environmental project in the town. St Teresa’s School pupils and staff were at the town’s Donald’s Creek on Saturday to celebrate their work.
The project is aimed at improving habitat, returning native fish species, and encouraging community connection to a neglected and forgotten waterway. The school partnered the Department of Conservation, the Mountains to Sea Wellington group, and other organisations to provide presentations, food, and entertainment.
An environmental group, buoyed by support for its Abel Tasman coastline clean-up, is launching a scheme to get the region's schoolchildren more connected to conservation.
Tasman Bay Guardians is challenging businesses in the Nelson/Tasman to support its adopt-a-school campaign that aims to bring marine and freshwater education to primary and secondary students across the region. The programme can also be adapted for early childhood centres.
