Oriental bay Seascape Mural Booklet 2008

Wellington’s seascape mural – the marine environment Environmental education resource for schools

OCTOBER 2008

Wellington’s seascape mural – the marine environment Environmental education resource for schools

Published by Department of Conservation Poneke Area P.O. Box 5086 Wellington 6145, New Zealand

Š Copyright 2008 New Zealand Department of Conservation ISBN 978-0-478-14445-1 (pdf) In the interest of forest conservation, The Department of Conservation supports paperless electronic publishing.

CONTENTS

Seascape mural – the marine environment

1

Planning a trip to the seascape mural

2

Getting there

3

Curriculum links and activities

4

Key focus: Our marine environment

5

Key focus: People and the marine environment

7

Lambton Harbour

Frank Kitts Park Civic Square Oriental Bay Te Papa

Seascape mural

Little Karaka Bay

Town Belt

Basin Reserve

Key focus: Seal colony

11

Copy masters

12

Assessment activity: Science LW2946

13

Assessment activity: Science LW2015

14

Assessment activity: Science LW2012

15

The rocky shore

16

The sandy shore

17

iii

iv

Shallow coastal water

18

The deep sea

19

Remember the Seashore Code

20

Activity cards

21

Food chains

22

Common marine animals

24

Eric’s dream

26

Oriental Bay – then and now

27

People impact cards

28

Action plan activity

29

Newspaper clippings

30

Preservation versus use

31

Contacts and resources

32

Seascape mural – the marine environment An environmental education resource for schools This environmental education resource, like the mural it uses as a focus, is to raise awareness and develop understanding for conservation issues in the marine environment. The mural provides an exciting ‘outdoor classroom’ that is easily accessible to Wellington schools. It was created because…

Eric had a dream. Every day he walked past an old grey concrete wall. He wondered how he could make it more attractive—so many people passed this wall every day. After diving with a friend one day he had an idea. That boring concrete wall could be a reflection of the marine environment beside it.

Eric shared his dream and found people to help to make it happen. With the help of artists, scientists and local businesses Eric’s dream became a reality.

You can see it at Oriental Bay. This seascape mural reflects what is in the marine environment opposite it and around the south coast.

Since 2004 the community has worked together to create this seascape mural.

Nine local artists and seven marine specialists from DOC, NIWA and Te Papa worked with the support of WCC arts team and DOC’s Poneke area community relations team to create a mural with a difference.

Curriculum links and suggested pre-visit, on-site and post-visit activities have been developed.

Teachers can select from a range of activities suitable for students working at curriculum levels 2–4 or they can adapt activities to suit their students.

When at the seascape mural students can: •

Observe the different ecosystems that exist in the marine environment and identify some food chains/webs •

Identify some special features of marine plants and animals that help them survive in the marine environment •

Consider why people value this area and want to improve it •

Observe the impact of people on the marine environment •

Explore an artwork that provides enjoyment and promotes consideration of marine issues.

1

Environmental education If New Zealand is to have a sustainable future, environmental education is essential.

Historically schools have provided programmes for students to learn about the environment and provided learning experiences in the environment. Today environmental education includes another vital component—education for the environment. Students are required to use the knowledge, skills and values they have acquired to contribute to a sustainable future for New Zealand’s natural, social and cultural environment. Teachers are encouraged to provide opportunities for students to access information that will enable them to debate issues and make informed decisions; and to take responsibility, through personal and/or groups actions, for addressing environmental issues.

The Department of Conservation provides this resource for teachers using the marine environment as a focus for an environmental education programme. For further information about environmental education refer to your school’s copy of the Guidelines for Environmental Education in New Zealand Schools, Ministry of Education 1999 or find it online at www.tki.org.nz

Environmental education in, on and around Wellington’s coast The seascape mural at Oriental Bay provides a focus for students to learn more about the marine environment, develop key competencies (thinking, making meaning, relating to others, self-management, participating and contributing) and address the key environmental concepts of interdependence, sustainability, biodiversity and personal and social responsibility for action.

The seascape mural and the many accessible marine environments around Wellington’s coast, provide a wide range of learning contexts to meet the leaning needs and interests of students of all ages and abilities.

This resource has been developed for teachers who wish to involve their students in environmental education both inside and outside the classroom.

The key concepts underlying environmental education—interdependence, sustainability, biodiversity, personal and social responsibility for action—interweave through the suggested activities and are core to environmental education programmes.

Planning a trip to the seascape mural 1. Read the suggested pre-visit, on-site and post-visit activities and additional information.

2. Plan your environmental education programme (using the activities provided) that will best meet the learning needs of your students.

3. Locate and use Safety and EOTC: A good practice for New Zealand schools, Ministry of Education 2002 (www.tki.org.nz). This document provides a rationale, safety management process, legal obligations and planning templates for a good EOTC programme. Use the templates it provides for Risk Assessment Checklist (form 12) and Outdoor Safety Action Plan (form 13) and EOTC event planning checklist (form 17) to ensure you are well prepared for your trip. Other helpful documents include: Managing Risks in Outdoor Activities (Mountain Safety Manual 27, 1993), and Water Safety Across the Curriculum (Water Safety New Zealand, 2000). Children under 15 years must be under constant adult supervision.

4. Compile a checklist of equipment required by each student, each class. The list might include: Students: Food, drink, a waterproof parka, sound footwear and warm clothing.

Teachers: cellphone, first aid kit.

If you wish to have students writing or sketching, it is recommended that a notebook or small exercise book be used, rather than loose sheets of paper.

5. For more information or advice, contact the DOC Poneke Area office, ph (04) 472 5821.

2

Getting there

Oriental Bay Te Papa Freyberg Pool CA

FIE

LD

ST

ST

RE

RE

ET

Waitangi Park

ORIENTA

L

PARADE

ET

Toilets

COU

RTE

NAY

PLA

CE

MB RID KE GE NT TE RR TE AC RR E AC E

KE

E

Playground Parking

CA

WA

BL

Seascape mural

Walking times From Te Papa: 15–20 minutes From Courtney Place: 15–20 minutes

3

Curriculum links and activities This resource is cross-curricula with strong links to Science and Art. Some key focuses have been identified/developed. For each focus there is a brief overview of environmental education outcomes followed by curriculum links and a range of suggested activities for you to select from: •

Pre-visit activities—so students can learn more about the environment that they will visit, the species they will see on the mural, at the rocky shore or the sandy shore. Students will also find out why and how the mural was developed.

•

On-site activities—including a set of 20 Photo Cards, for your students to use in (and thus learn more about) the marine environment while at the seascape mural and/or at other local marine environments they may visit.

•

Post-visit activities—to follow-up on learning opportunities motivated by their visit and to use students’ knowledge and skills to take some positive action for their local environment.

Core activities for each topic have been highlighted. You may wish to use only these activities for a shorter study.

Through the suggested activities students can develop competency in thinking and making meaning while researching and presenting information in order to argue/debate/portray a case convincingly and when analysing problems such as water pollution; numeracy skills when organising survey information; and competency in participating and contributing when taking responsibility as a group member for planning and carrying out an environmental project.

Teachers should prepare a student task that could be completed at the beginning and end of this study and used for formative and summative assessment. It should provide an opportunity to compare students’ development in knowledge, attitudes, values and skills when making lifestyle decisions or teachers can use the suggested activities from the Assessment Resource Bank.

4

Key focus: Our marine environment Most children in Wellington have experience of, or access to, the harbour, rocky shores, and sandy shores. These places offer a wide variety of microhabitats, where different communities of living things can get the food and shelter they need. Studying the marine environment allows students to explore concepts of the variety and interdependence of living things, the effects of change on an environment and the relationship between living and non-living things in an ecosystem. The seascape mural provides an opportunity for students to see some of the marine species that live in the harbour and to visualise what life is like below the water surface.

Students can explore actions, including creating artworks, they can take to increase awareness about the marine environment and take positive actions to support their local marine communities.

Links can be made to: Science – Making Sense of the Living World Students can: L2 – investigate local marine ecosystems and understand the interdependence of living organisms, including humans.

L3.2 – investigate special features of some marine plants and animals and how these help them to stay alive.

L4.4 – use simple food chains to explain the feeding relationships in a marine environment.

English – Links can be made to a range of oral, written and visual language objectives.

Mathematics – Statistics – Students can gather information about marine species.

The Arts – Students can use visual art to show a marine community or to raise awareness about a marine issue.

PRE-VISIT: Learning about the environment Students can: •

Brainstorm ideas about ‘the marine environment’ – What is it? Who lives in the sea, on the coast?

•

Give students a pre-assessment activity – samples taken from the Assessment Resource Bank (NZCER) are provided on pages 13–15.

•

Share the story of creating the seascape mural, Eric’s dream (page 26).

•

View the information sheets on the 4 communities shown on the seascape mural (Marine Communities, pages 16–19) and identify some of the species that live in these communities – rocky shore, shallow water, deep water, sandy shore.

•

Have students divide into groups and give each group a copy of a marine community information sheet. Use questions on sheet as focus for discussion. Have each group select a representative to present a summary of discussion to class.

•

See page 32 to find out more about marine education resources.

•

Plan a trip to the seascape mural to observe the natural food chains shown on the seascape mural and how introduced animals affect them.

•

Plan a trip to a local coastal area where students can compare sandy and rocky shores. A separate plan for a trip to a local seal colony is included below.

•

Prepare some ‘pool gogglers’ to use to explore the rock pools – a plastic dish, face mask, plastic or cardboard tubing with a strong clear polythene bag tied tightly over the bottom. This will allow you to see below the surface.

•

Study the Seashore Code (page 20) to prepare for your trip. Students could take this home to illustrate and share with their families.

5

ON-SITE: Learning in/about the environment At the seascape mural •

Observe the different coastal communities – the rocky shore, the shallow water, the deep water, the sandy shore.

•

Use the photo cards to identify feeding relationships on the coast, in the harbour, in the rock pools, out at sea. Who eats whom?

•

Look closely at the different marine plants and animals, and compare the special features that help them to survive in this environment.

At the seascape mural or local coast Use Activity Cards (p21, at mural or local marine area ) to: •

Form food chains (see page 22) – students form groups according to small marine symbol shown on the bottom of each card. In groups form a food chain, except for those in lifebuoy group who will study their cards and justify their reasons for joining another group’s food chain/web.

•

Observe how people interact with the marine environment. Share ideas about the affect peoples’ interaction might have on the marine environment (rate their observation as positive / negative / neutral).

•

Survey the number of birds on a small area of the coast. What are the most common ones? Why do you think this is so? What is their role in this environment? Write a job description for a seagull.

•

Sand sculptures – think carefully about the special features of a marine animal or plant. Using your hands only, make a sculpture in the sand and explain how special features are used to help this plant or animal survive.

•

Sketch a map of the local coastline in the sand. Look around at the hills, streams, drains – where does the water flow in to the sea. Think about what comes along with it to pollute the sea. How will this affect the harbour/coast?

•

Who am I? With a partner or in small groups play a game where you think of a marine plant or animal on the mural and your partner or group members have to try and guess what it is. They can ask you questions but you can only answer Yes or No. •

Poetry – lie, or sit, on the beach and listen to the sounds around you, observe the movement in the air and on the water, feel the wind, sun and water, lick your lips and see if you can taste any salt spray on them, feel the textures of the sand, the rocks and any shells or seaweed on the beach… Write down some words that you can use to write a poem back at school.

•

Use the Common marine animals checklist (page 24, 25) to identify species in your local marine environment.

6

POST-VISIT: Taking action for the environment Students can: •

Make a model of a marine community. Prepare an information sheet explaining the feeding relationships of the plants and animals you have shown in your model.

•

Make a food chain mobile to show how marine species relate to/depend on each other.

•

Seaweek is held in March every year. What does it mean to you? Discuss the personal impact each person, school, community has on the ocean.

•

If notes for poems/prose were taken on your trip—use these to create a poem or some prose that will show your feelings about the coastal/marine environment.

•

Write a report about the current state of the coast you visited with your class. What species did you see? How did they depend on one another? What signs of people did you see in this environment? What issues need to be addressed? Can you suggest some way to do this?

•

Marine issues: What are some of the issues that you know about that affect the marine environment? List these and then in small groups share ideas about the best ways to educate people about the issues and promote positive action for the environment.

•

Find out about marine reserves (www.doc.govt.nz ) and how they can help protect our marine environment.

•

Plan to create an artwork related to the marine environment—poster, children’s picture book, mural, etc (read about how the seascape mural was developed – Eric’s dream page 26)

Key focus: People and the marine environment The biggest threat to the marine environment is by people who use it in inappropriate ways. Changes to the marine environment make it difficult for some living things to survive.

People can make changes that impact negatively on that environment. People can also take action to help the environment recover. People need to be aware of the issues affecting the marine environment in order to take action. Students can find out about the way different people value and use the marine environment and plan actions that will help to protect local areas. They can create artworks that raise awareness of environmental issues.

Links can be made to: Science – Making Sense of the Living World Students can: L3.4 – justify their involvement in a revegetation project.

Social Studies – Place and Environment Students will demonstrate knowledge and understanding of: L3 – how different groups use the marine environment.

4.1 – how places reflect past interactions of people with the environment.

L5 - why particular places are significant for people.

English - Links can be made to a range of oral, written and visual language objectives.

The Arts – Visual Arts L2 – develop individual ideas to include in a group artwork on a marine conservation theme.

Technology – Technological Capability L3 – Students can make a little blue penguin shelter to meet specified criteria.

7

PRE-VISIT: Learning about the environment •

View ‘Then and Now’ photos (page 27) of Oriental Bay/the harbour. Share ideas about how the area has been changed by people. What impact have people had on this environment. How have changes to their environment affected marine species?

•

Investigate how your local coast has changed over the last 100 years. Was it always like this? Mäori view water as a taonga and treat it with respect. They have rules in place so that there will be seafood for future generations—what rules are in place to help this – find out about these rules: www.fish.govt.nz •

Invite a local kaumatua to come and talk about the Mäori history of your local community. How did early Mäori use the sea? How do Mäori use it today?

•

Find some Mäori legends related to the local marine environment—use school and local library, internet, local Mäori.

•

Conduct a survey to find out who (from your class, school and/or neighbourhood) visits/uses the beach, coast, harbour for recreation, food gathering, work, etc. (Try to include a range of people—Mäori, conservationists, fishers, surfers, dog owners….)

•

Discuss the survey results and record how these activities impact on the marine environment using a PMI chart.

•

Share ideas about ‘What goes into the sea?’ Record on a chart to show what happens as a natural process (rain, plant debris) and as an unnatural process (rubbish, chemicals, fertilisers that flow through the stormwater drains, oil and fuel spills from boats).

•

Have a group check storm water drains and gutters in and around school. Find out who is responsible for keeping them clean. Report findings to class.

•

What do we take from the sea? Icecream relies heavily on seaweed extracts for its texture and creaminess. So do an amazing variety of other foods. Look on food labels for carrageenans and alginates (seaweed extracts) listed as ingredients.

Make a list of other things from the sea that people use.

•

Identify any groups in your community who are working to improve/conserve/ beautify local areas of coast. What are they doing? Why? (e.g. The Southern Environmental Association raises plants for coastal planting, another local group has worked with the Wellington City Council to plant and protect the sand dunes at Island Bay).

8

ON-SITE: Learning in/about the environment •

Look at what people have done along the coastline. How would it look if people were not part of this environment?

•

Think about possible conflict between people and marine species. Could any conflict be resolved?

– E.g. People have chosen to make a road around the coast. How does this affect the little blue penguin who needs to nest near the coast?

•

Look across to Matui / Somes Island—a popular nesting area for little blue penguins – give some reasons for this.

•

Imagine the harbour as a food basket for early Mäori—imagine canoes, people gathering shellfish on the sand.

•

Observe how people are using the coast today. For each different type of use— suggest the impact they have on the marine environment.

•

Share People Impact Cards (p 28).

•

Look out for ways people are trying to protect the environment, e.g. rubbish bins, the mural, …

•

Show an example of people’s interaction with the environment through a sketch (or a series of sketches).

•

Write the alphabet down one side of a page—for each letter write a positive action you can take to help this marine environment. You will need to be creative for this.

9

POST-VISIT: Taking action for the environment •

Research the history of your local coast—interview locals, access photo collections.

Could some areas be better used or be in a healthier condition for future generations? If so, consider an action you could take to improve it.

•

Role play the different users of the coast. Explain how you value the area as a walker, scientist, mountain biker, realtor and how you might like to improve it.

•

Read how groups are working for the environment in their communities www.greenpages.org.nz .

•

Write an Action Plan (using the template on p 29) for some positive action you will take.

Possible actions: – Create a mural. Find out about opportunities for schools to have an ‘artist in residence’ for a week to help with a school art project. Contact Wellington Arts Centre, see page 32).

– Write a letter to the local council to request placement of rubbish bins.

– Paint informative signs.

– If little blue penguins nest near to your home/school, arrange a workshop to build shelters. Find out how on www.penguin.net.nz – Make a brochure to inform your family about an issue that affects the marine environment – monitoring what goes down the storm water drain, rules for boat owners, fishing rules, seashore code, etc.

– Plan a beach clean up. Record the types of rubbish collected and think about how it may have got onto the beach. Make a flow chart to describe the way different types of rubbish make their way from their source to the beach. Write a report to inform a local newspaper about your findings.

– Make and write a postcard to a friend or politician telling them about a marine issue and what you are doing or plan to do about it.

•

A marine reserve is an area of coastline protected by law. Find out more about marine reserves www.emr.org.nz Read the Newspaper clippings (page 30) to see the different points of view local people hold. Find out as much as you can about marine reserves, including interviewing some local people. Organise a class debate ‘New Zealand needs more marine reserves’.

•

Write a letter to the Department of Conservation informing them what you are doing for the environment.

10

Optional extra…

Key focus: Seal colony Students can discover the biodiversity and interdependence that exists in a coastal ecosystem. They can compare this with, and plan actions to protect, a local ecosystem.

Links can be made to: Science – Making Sense of the Living World Students will: L1-8 -investigate the seals at the Sinclair Head colony and explore their relationship with the environment and other living organisms.

L1-8 – investigate the features (and their functions) and adaptations of New Zealand fur seals.

English – Links can be made to a range of oral, written and visual language objectives.

PRE-VISIT: Learning about the environment •

Find information about the seals that make their home at Sinclair Head during winter. Consider why this environment is suitable for them. Discuss the food and conditions they need to survive. Predict what might be predators for the seals in this environment.

•

Useful websites are www.doc.govt.nz •

Discuss the word ‘biodiversity’. What other animals do you expect to see when you visit a seal colony? Think about how these relate to the seals.

•

Find out about rules that protect them and other marine mammals. Go to: www.doc. govt.nz/templates/summary.aspx?id=33235 ON-SITE: Learning in/about the environment Plan your visit between May and October to see male seals who spend the winter at this colony.

•

Observe the seals’ special features that assist them to survive in this environment.

•

Identify other fauna that may be sharing the coast with the seals—terns, shags, oyster catchers, black-backed gulls, skinks, shellfish—and explain why this biodiversity is important. What would happen if one species was removed from this environment?

•

What changes might stop these animals living or visiting this area?

•

Observe special features of coastal plants. What is their role in this environment?

POST-VISIT: Taking action for the environment •

List the plants and animals you saw at Sinclair Head and use the list to construct a food chain or food web. Write a paragraph abut how they depend on each other.

•

Use the Preservation versus use discussion cards (page 31) to consider a range of views about Sinclair Head or an area of coast near where you live. Share your personal ideas about its value.

•

Observe an area at school or locally. Report on the living things that exist there.

Could it be improved to provide a healthier environment for local native species of plants and animals? Plan some actions to improve it, using the Action Plan Template (page 29).

11

Copy masters

12

Assessment activity Science LW2946 tiny plants

tiny animals mussel fish seal

periwinkle starfish

seaweed

seagull

limpet crab This diagram shows a food web from the sea. Use it to answer the following: a. Fill in the missing link to complete this food chain: seaweed

______________________

starfish

b. What eats periwinkle? ______________________ c. What does a crab eat? ______________________ d. How many different foods does the fish eat? ______________________ e. Food chains begin with a producer. Using the food web above, draw a two-link food chain that begins with a producer and does not include starfish. ______________________ f.

______________________

______________________

Draw the longest food chain possible from the food web above.

Fact sheet published by Department of Conservation, Poneke Area, P.O. Box 5086, Wellington.

2008.

13

Assessment activity Science LW2015 tiny plants

tiny animals mussel fish seal

periwinkle starfish

seaweed

seagull

limpet crab This diagram shows a rock pool food web. Use it to answer the following: a. What does a crab eat? ______________________ b. What eats rock cod? ______________________ c. Name two producers ______________________ and ______________________ d. Put the arrows in to complete this food chain:

plankton

mussel

seagull

e. Shrimp are in three food chains in the food web above. Draw one of these food chains in the box below:

f.

Here is another food chain:. seaweed

catseye

whelk

seagull

Add this food chain into the food web at the top of the page.

Fact sheet published by Department of Conservation, Poneke Area, P.O. Box 5086, Wellington.

2008.

14

Assessment activity Science LW2012 Toheroa is a shellfish that can grow to 25 cm long.

A sign on a beach reads:

Toheroa can be gathered from the beach during the open season which is July and August. They must not be taken if they are less than 8 cm long. No more than 20 can be taken by any one person and a maximum of 50 per car. You cannot dig for toheroa with an implement. a. Why do people gather toheroa?

b. Why would the following rules have been made? i.

The number of toheroa any one person can take is 20.

ii.

Toheroa can only be taken in July and August.

c. Sometimes a complete ban on taking toheroa is put in place. Why might this be done?

Fact sheet published by Department of Conservation, Poneke Area, P.O. Box 5086, Wellington.

2008.

15

The rocky shore •

Around the coast there is a high tide mark and a low tide mark. The area in between the tide marks is called the intertidal zone.

•

Animals living here are exposed to air during low tide and covered with water during high tide.

•

These animals are also battered by strong waves.

•

On the rocky shore most animals are able to attach themselves firmly to the rocks and build defences around themselves.

•

Many animals seal themselves inside a tight fitting outside skeleton – this protects them from drying out, from enemies, and from strong waves.

•

The sea brings in a soup of tiny living things to feed rock pool animals.

•

Discuss what high and low tide times mean for animals and plants living in the area between the high and low tide marks – the intertidal zone. What are some of the animals you would expect to find here? What makes it possible for them to survive in this environment?

Fact sheet published by Department of Conservation, Poneke Area, P.O. Box 5086, Wellington.

2008.

16

The sandy shore •

On the sandy shore most animals can be found in burrows, particularly when the tide is out.

•

Seabirds can be found resting between meals.

•

The sand is constantly on the move – washed in and out by the sea and blown about by the wind.

•

Sand dunes are an important part of the beach - helping to stop the sand from travelling further inland.

•

Pingao (a rich yellow sedge) is an important coastal plant that has thick rope-like stems. It sends down long fine roots in search of moisture.

These roots are important in holding sand on the beach.

•

What are some of the animals that burrow into the sand? (You may have felt them as you have walked in the sea).

•

Many people collect shellfish from the beaches. Do you think there will be enough left for your grandchildren to collect?

•

Why/ Why not?

•

How do people use the sandy shore for recreation?

•

Are these activities harming this environment?

Fact sheet published by Department of Conservation, Poneke Area, P.O. Box 5086, Wellington.

2008.

17

Shallow coastal water •

There are about 270 different species of fish in shallow coastal waters around New Zealand.

•

New Zealanders use the sea for recreation and food.

•

Divers enjoy exploring the shallow waters around the Wellington coastline – it’s good for people to learn more about the undersea world and how to protect it.

•

Some divers collect crayfish, paua and kina.

There are rules to help these species survive for future generations to enjoy.

•

Fishers cast their lines from the beaches, rock, wharves and small boats around the coast.

•

Those who fish for a living go further out to sea – at Island Bay you can see a small fleet of fishing boats.

•

How do you use the shallow water around our coast?

•

How will a marine reserve affect the plants and animals that live in the shallow waters?

Fact sheet published by Department of Conservation, Poneke Area, P.O. Box 5086, Wellington.

2008.

18

The deep sea •

How do you use the shallow water around our coast?

•

How will a marine reserve affect the plants and animals that live in the shallow waters?

•

New Zealand is responsible for the area that stretches 370 kilometres out to sea and covers 430 million hectares.

•

Most of these waters are deep – less than onethird are shallower than 1,000 metres.

•

The deep sea is home to huge forests of seaweeds, tiny plants and animals through to huge marine mammals.

•

New Zealanders are strong supporters of keeping our waters safe for marine mammals.

•

There are fishing rules so that there will be plenty of fish in the sea for future generations.

Plastic waste thrown overboard is a hazard for marine life

Many seabirds, dolphins and seals are accidentally caught in fishing nets. Many others eat or get caught up in rubbish thrown overboard from boats.

•

How could this be prevented?

•

How do you depend on the ocean for food or transport?

Fact sheet published by Department of Conservation, Poneke Area, P.O. Box 5086, Wellington.

2008.

19

Remember the Seashore Code v

v v

Respect the natural environment and the plants and animals that live in it.

Look

first—hold

gently.

Look

under

the

rocks—but

turn

them

back

the

way

you

found

them.

v

Don’‛t

leave

animals

in

containers

for

too

long

or

in

the

sun.

v

NEVER

take

living

animals

back

to

the

classroom.

They

will

die.

v

DO

have

fun,

watch

the

waves

and

take

your

rubbish

home!

10 Point Checklist FIND OUT FIRST

BE CAREFUL WITH CHEMICALS

Find out and follow the regulations governing recreational use of waterways and access. They are designed to minimise conflict between users and protect everyone's health and safety.

Use chemicals sparingly, and refuel with care.

Dispose of cooking and washing water well away from the source.

STAY ON ESTABLISHED TRACKS AND USE EXISTING FACILITIES By using existing facilities, where these are provided, you run less chance of disturbing wildlife and damaging riverbanks and foreshores.

TAKE CARE OF YOUR GEAR Careless use of equipment can harm wildlife and other users.

REMOVE RUBBISH Litter is unattractive, harmful to wildlife and pollutes water. Plan your visit to reduce rubbish, and carry out what you carry in.

DISPOSE OF TOILET WASTE PROPERLY Improper disposal of toilet waste can contaminate water, damage the environment, and is culturally offensive. Use disposal facilities where provided or bury waste in a shallow hole at least 50 metres away from waterways.

RESPECT OUR CULTURAL HERITAGE Many New Zealand waterways have special cultural, spiritual or historical values. Treat these places with consideration and respect.

TAKE ONLY THE FOOD YOU NEED When taking food from the sea or freshwater don't overdo it. Sustain life in our waterways by taking only what you need and no more than the legal limit.

CONSIDER PLANTS AND ANIMALS Remember we are only visitors to water environments. Other animal and plant species live there all the time.

CONSIDER OTHER PEOPLE Respect other visitors ... everyone has the right to enjoy the environment in safety.

Toitu te marae a tane Toitu te marae a tangaroa

Fact sheet published by Department of Conservation, Poneke Area, P.O. Box 5086, Wellington.

2008.

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Activity cards Copy and cut up these cards for use at the seascape mural or on a trip to the coast near your school.

Form food chains Students form groups according to marine symbols on bottom of cards.

In groups form a food chain, except for those in life buoy group, who study their cards and justify their reasons for joining another group’s food chain/web.

Observe how people interact with the marine environment Share ideas about the affect peoples’ interaction might have on the marine environment (rate their observation as positive/negative/neutral).

Survey the number of birds on a small area of the coast What are the most common ones?

Why do you think this is so?

What is their role in this environment?

Write a job description for a seagull.

Sand sculptures Think carefully about the special features of a marine animal or plant and, using your hands only, make a sculpture of it in the sand. Explain how special features are used to help this plant or animal survive.

Sketch a map of the local coastline in the sand Look around at the hills, streams, drains – where does the water flow into the sea?

Think about what comes along with it to pollute the sea.

How will this affect the harbour/coast?

Who am I? With a partner or in small groups have a game where you think of a marine plant or animal on the mural and your partner or group members have to try and guess what it is?

They can ask you questions but you can only answer Yes or No.

Poetry Lie, or sit, on the beach and listen to the sounds around you, observe the movement in the air and on the water, feel the wind, sun and water, lick your lips and see if you can taste any salt spray on them, feel the textures of the sand, the rocks and any shells or seaweed on the beach…

Write down some words that you can use to write a poem back at school.

Fact sheet published by Department of Conservation, Poneke Area, P.O. Box 5086, Wellington.

2008.

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Food chains Species photo cards can be sorted into groups according to small symbols on each card..

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Give each student a card and have them form groups, according to the symbol on their cards. Groups holding cards with wave, anchor, flag or boat symbols, form their species into a food chain. (See groups below. Students will know their food chain is correct if the symbols match one of the same size).

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Students with cards with a life buoy symbol can read their cards, describe their feeding habits and let other groups decide if they would fit into their food chain somewhere.

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Expand discussion about food chains to include the concept of a food web.

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People impact cards could be used to expand this activity. E.g., Ask groups to decide which activities might have an impact on their species/food chains/webs.

Pot-bellied seahorse – 7

Crabs – 17

Published by: Department of Conservation Poneke Area, P.O. Box 5086, Wellington 2007

Eagle ray – 16

Published by: Department of Conservation Poneke Area, P.O. Box 5086, Wellington 2007

Published by: Department of Conservation Poneke Area, P.O. Box 5086, Wellington 2007

Pot-bellied seahorse. Photo Darryl Torckler.

Inset: Warren Farrelly.

Algae – 10

Hermit crab.

Paua – 3

Blue cod – 6

Little blue penguin – 20

Published by: Department of Conservation Poneke Area, P.O. Box 5086, Wellington 2007

Published by: Department of Conservation Poneke Area, P.O. Box 5086, Wellington 2007

Blue cod. Photo: Paddy Ryan.

Spotty – 5

Fur seal – 15

Published by: Department of Conservation Poneke Area, P.O. Box 5086, Wellington 2007

NZ fur seal. Photo: Jeremy Rolfe.

Australasian gannet – 19

Published by: Department of Conservation Poneke Area, P.O. Box 5086, Wellington 2007

Spotty..

Seven-armed starfish. Photo: Malcolm Francis.

Little blue penguin. Photo: Rod Morris.

Kahawai – 12

Published by: Department of Conservation Poneke Area, P.O. Box 5086, Wellington 2007

Orca. Photo DOC.

Published by: Department of Conservation Poneke Area, P.O. Box 5086, Wellington 2007

Paua. Photo: Wendy Norden.

Photo Jeremy Rolfe.

Published by: Department of Conservation Poneke Area, P.O. Box 5086, Wellington 2007

Eagle ray. Photo: DOC.

Seven-armed starfish – 2

Published by: Department of Conservation Poneke Area, P.O. Box 5086, Wellington 2007

Published by: Department of Conservation Poneke Area, P.O. Box 5086, Wellington 2007

Orca – 13

Published by: Department of Conservation Poneke Area, P.O. Box 5086, Wellington 2007

Kahawai. Photo: Kim Westerskov.

Australasian gannet. Photo: Peter Blok.

Fact sheet published by Department of Conservation, Poneke Area, P.O. Box 5086, Wellington.

2008.

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Cards with life buoy symbol (all of same size) Kina – 4

Common jellyfish – 8

Published by: Department of Conservation Poneke Area, P.O. Box 5086, Wellington 2007

Porcupine fish – 9

Published by: Department of Conservation Poneke Area, P.O. Box 5086, Wellington 2007

Published by: Department of Conservation Poneke Area, P.O. Box 5086, Wellington 2007

Kina. Photo: Lindsey MacFarlane.

Snakeskin chiton – 1

Gulls – 18

Published by: Department of Conservation Poneke Area, P.O. Box 5086, Wellington 2007

Southern right whale – 11

Published by: Department of Conservation Poneke Area, P.O. Box 5086, Wellington 2007

Snakeskin chiton. Photo: Jeremy Rolfe.

Porcupine fish. Photo: Warren Farrelly.

Common jellyfish. Photo: DOC.

Published by: Department of Conservation Poneke Area, P.O. Box 5086, Wellington 2007

Black-backed gull.

Photo: Jeremy Rolfe.

Red-billed gull. Photo: Rod Morris.

Southern right whale. Photo: Paul Salvador.

Insets: Kim Westerskov.

Hector’s dolphin – 14

Published by: Department of Conservation Poneke Area, P.O. Box 5086, Wellington 2007

Hector’s dolphin. Photo © S. Dawson, NZ Whale & Dolphin Trust

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Common marine animals Adapted from Marine reserves education kit, available in pdf format at www.doc.govt.nz > getting involved / students & teachers / field trips by region / Auckland / Marine reserves / Marine Reserves Education Kit #13 Biodiversity

Sea anemones Simple, soft bodied, tube-shaped animals with a large mouth at the top surrounded by a crown of tentacles. The tentacles catch prey and push it through the mouth to be digested.

Common examples: Red beadlet anemone (in crevices and under large boulders high on shore) and olive beadlet anemone (mid to low tide in pools and moist crevices).

Crustaceans Many jointed animals with hard outer skeletons. Most have clearly segmented bodies, obvious antennae (feelers) and stalked eyes.

Crabs: Flat or wedge shaped body with four pairs of walking legs plus one pair of pincer legs. Reduced tail is tucked away under the body. Short antennae. Some are fast runners, others brandish pincers and some are camouflaged.

Half crabs: Like crabs but with weak flat pincers, long antennae, and only three working pairs of walking legs (fourth pair reduced).

Feed by filtering plankton. Often found together in large numbers.

Hermit crabs: Live in empty snail shells and have twisted, asymmetrical bodies to fit shell spiral. Have long antennae and stalked eyes.

Feed by scavenging, browsing small seaweeds and filter feeding. Never out of water.

Shrimps: Small, long-bodied animals with slender walking legs and swimming legs under a muscular tail. Tail has a large tail fan and can flick forwards or back to power the shrimp through water. Usually scavengers or predators.

Sand hoppers: Bodies laterally flattened and often comma shaped. Some have flattened legs for digging or kicking as they jump.

Often found under the driftline debris which they eat.

Slaters (sea lice, isopods): Have oval segmented bodies flattened from above. They have many small legs below the body for running, burrowing into sand and swimming.

Often scavengers. Some live in the drift-line sand.

Acorn barnacles: Small to tiny crustacea living inside boxes made from chalky shell plates that are cemented to hard surfaces.

Underwater, their lids open so that long, feathery legs can beat through the water to strain out the plankton. Closely related goose barnacles are attached by a flexible stalk.

Illustrations © John Walsby

Molluscs Soft bodied animals usually protected by a shell. Six types: Chitons, snails, slugs, bivalves, octopus / squid and tusk shells.

Chitons (pronounced ‘kite-ons’) Grazing molluscs with eight shell plates surrounded by a scaly girdle. This flexible shell bends to fit the lumps and hollows of rough rock.

Snails Mollusc protected by a single shell. Clings to rock or crawls on sole of a muscular foot. Head has sensitive tentacles. Withdraws into shell if detached. Most have a lid to close the shell opening.

Grazers Rounded like helmets (nerita or cats-eye) or Shaped like inverted spinning tops (topshells) or Pointed like a hat (limpets).

Predators and scavengers Whelks. Usually pointed at both ends. Have a breathing tube protruding from notch at front end for sensing prey or carrion.

Slugs Soft bodied molluscs that either have no shell or shell hidden inside body. Most have obvious head tentacles.

Sea hares: Have prominent flaps along back. May grow very large. Seaweed browsers or grazers.

Rear gill slugs: Have flower-like rear gill.

Many are brightly coloured. Predators of sponges and other encrusting animals.

Bivalves Molluscs enclosed inside a pair of shells. Most are filter feeders that strain plankton but some suck up deposits from the surface.

Several types: Oysters: Have one shell cemented firmly to the rock or other shells. Top shell thick and often sharp edged.

Mussels: Thin, smooth, streamlined shells anchored to rocks by tough elastic threads called byssus.

Fact sheet published by Department of Conservation, Poneke Area, P.O. Box 5086, Wellington.

2008.

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Clams: Thick or thin shells, usually in equal pairs.

Most burrow into sand or mud but some bore into rock, hide under boulders or nestle down in crevices.

Echinoderms The group name means the ‘spiny skins’. Their shapes vary from discs to tubes to plates with many having bodies divided into five equal parts. They have many flexible tube feet – usually with suckers on the ends – for walking and holding food.

The group includes: urchins, heart urchins, starfish, cushion stars, brittle stars, sea cucumbers, sand dollars and feather stars.

Sea eggs (urchins or kina) Rounded spheres with long spines and five double rows of tube feet protruding from surface. The mouth underneath has five chisel-like teeth to grind up encrusting animals and seaweeds.

Starfish Echinoderms with long arms which have hundreds of suckered tube feet on the underside. The 11-armed star is common on rocky shores and in harbours where it eats mussels, urchins and clams.

Cushion stars Flattened starfish with short arms and webbing between them. Usually five arms but occasionally four, six or seven arms. Feeds by everting its stomach through its mouth to digest whatever it is smothering.

Brittle stars Starfish with five long slender arms snaking out from a small central 5-sided disc. Often break up if taken out of water. A purpleblack species is common clinging to the underside of boulders and a striped species in debris below boulders.

Worms

Fish Some small fish are commonly found in rocky shore pools. Like all fish they are streamlined animals which have fins above and below the body and around the tail tip. Rock pool fish are mostly small and stocky with fairly large eyes. They are very wary and usually seen only by people prepared to sit motionless for several minutes.

Triplefins (or cockabullies) Small blunt-headed fish with three distinct dorsal fins. They have a large ventral fin and broad leaf-shaped pectoral fins. Pelvic fins are reduced to slender sensory fingers. About 20 species: many less than 5 cm long.

Clingfish or sucker fish (including lumpfish) Small fish with broad flat heads.

Pelvic fins modified to form sucker on the belly for clinging to rocks or seaweed. No scales and body slippery smooth with mucus. Of 12 species, seven are common in pools.

Rockfish Long dark fish with scaly bodies and blunt spined dorsal and ventral fins. Pectoral fins are large and pelvic fins narrow with several feeler fingers. A thick skin of mucus helps them survive under stones when the tide is out.

Shore birds Crowds of people scare most sea birds away but two confident scavengers, the red-billed and blackbacked gulls, often remain.

Pied shags are also common, roosting in pohutukawa trees overarching the beach on Goat Island’s cliffs. White-faced herons and variable oystercatchers are regularly seen on the rock flats at low tide but keep their distance from people. Rare NZ dotterel may also be spotted at Long Bay.

Red-billed gull

Variable oystercatcher

Black-backed gull

Pied shag

Long, soft bodied animals. Some have segmented bodies and others have smooth bodies. Some are free roaming and others live inside hard or soft tubes.

Chalky tubeworms Segmented worms with crowns of head tentacles for filtering plankton. Their chalky tubes are cemented to the rock and give protection from drying out and predation.

Soft (parchment) tubeworms Segmented worms in soft papery tubes either buried in sand or attached under boulders. Some have feathery head crowns for filtering plankton.

Others have crowns of long thread-like tentacles for gathering up food fragments from the surface.

Ragworms Free-roaming segmented worms living in sand or under boulders. They have small false legs on each segment. Small jaws inside their mouths are used to grab animal food and rasp off the flesh.

White-faced heron Illustrations © John Walsby

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Eric’s dream

Eric had a dream. Every day he walked past an old grey concrete wall. He wondered how he could make it more attractive. Oriental Bay was such a popular area with so many people passing through it every day—walking, jogging, biking, swimming, sailing or just sitting and enjoying the view.

After diving with a friend one day Eric had an idea.

That boring concrete wall could be a reflection of the marine environment beside it.

Eric shared his dream and found people to help to make it happen. He talked to people from the Department of Conservation who provided money and knowledge about the marine environment. Local businesses gave paint and wood. Eric found artist Ellen Coup to paint the background and four other artists to create the marine animals on plywood that were then attached to the wall.

With everyone’s help Eric’s dream became a reality.

You can see it at Oriental Bay. This seascape mural reflects what is in the marine environment opposite it and around the south coast. It helps people learn more about the amazing underwater world and the species that make the coast their home. That old crumbling wall is now a thing of the past.

Fact sheet published by Department of Conservation, Poneke Area, P.O. Box 5086, Wellington.

2008.

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Oriental Bay – then and now Below: Oriental Bay in the 1890s. Photo: Tyree Collection, Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington.

Bottom: Oriental Bay today. Photo: Jeremy Rolfe.

Fact sheet published by Department of Conservation, Poneke Area, P.O. Box 5086, Wellington.

2008.

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People impact cards What is happening in each picture?

Do you think any of these activities could harm the coast?

In what ways? For example, what effects do you think collecting shellfish might have on other people that like to use the coast?

What activities might leave rubbish or pollute the coast, and what do you think would be the effect on the coastal environment?

How could these activities be kept positive for the environment?

Fact sheet published by Department of Conservation, Poneke Area, P.O. Box 5086, Wellington.

2008.

28

Action plan activity The following diagram shows how you can start to think about an action-orientated approach to environmental education. This process should always be evaluated as you work through it, to check that you are headed towards your decision.

Choose an issue or topic: Skills required: (These could be skills that you have already or will develop)

Identify roles and processes within decision making:

Action: (What will you do?)

How to find out about different attitudes and values:

How to develop awareness of this issue:

(These could be skills that you have already or will develop)

Identify and enhance knowledge and understanding (Through essential learning areas)

Fact sheet published by Department of Conservation, Poneke Area, P.O. Box 5086, Wellington.

2008.

29

Newspaper clippings Reserve not a threat

Serious reservations

(taken from a front page article) Cook Strait News 31 January 2006

(taken from a letter to the editor) Cook Strait News 14 February 2006

South Coast Marine Reserve Coalition spokesman Andrew Cutler says, “Commercial fishers will not be prevented from mooring in the Island Bay embayment, nor will they be prevented from landing their catch there.

Re: “Reserve not a threat”

“The 969-hectare Taputeranga Marine Reserve, proposed between Houghton Bay and Owhiro Bay quarry, will prohibit any fishing within its boundaries, reaching up to 1.3 kilometres out to sea.

“Fishers will not be prohibited from mooring boats and landing their catch in the proposed reserve area.”

Special advisor to the Marine Conservation Unit Murray Hosking says, “Recreational boaties can continue to use moorings and boat ramps in the reserve, and can come back to shore with fish caught outside the reserve area without hassle.

“The Taputeranga Marine Reserve would offer plethora (lots of) of magnificent experiences for users, while also being extremely valuable scientifically.

Mr Cutler needs to understand what Island Bay is to all users. As a father who was taught by his grandfather and father to fish from the rocks then to move up to a clinker dinghy and fish around the island I will be now forced, as a father, to travel out long past what I believe is safe ground to enjoy teaching my children and visiting nephews how to fish.

My questions to Mr Cutler are has he ever taken a child fishing in the area? Does he fish? Dive? Own a boat? And does he actually know how far out to sea 1.3 kilometres is? … I am happy to row him out there any day so that he can clearly understand how far it is and what potential problems a small change in the weather can do.

Mr Cutler, the sea is unforgiving. Wellington’s south coast is known to be one of the most dangerous stretches of water in NZ. Making the area a reserve does not make it any safer.

“Marine reserves are fundamentally set aside for scientific research but it could be useful for recreational diving, marine education and ecotourism.”

Fact sheet published by Department of Conservation, Poneke Area, P.O. Box 5086, Wellington.

2008.

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Preservation versus use (Debate/discussion starter cards)

Using these cards students to explore attitudes and values that people may have about an area. Alter to suit your students.

Developer

Local iwi member

People will pay a lot of money to stay in a place like this. They can enjoy the lovely sea views and be close to the beach for recreation. It might cost me a bit for consents and building but it would be worth it.

This is where my ancestors lived and some of the land close by is tapu. We want this area to stay as it is. People can visit the area but it should not be overrun by tourists and their rubbish.

Fisher

Department of Conservation

My friends and I love to come here and to fish. I don’t want to see any of the area destroyed but we would like more people to visit and have a place to stay.

This is a very significant conservation area. A lot of work has been done in this area to restore and protect it because of its biodiversity. We do not want to see any more damage here.

Local school student

Local council member

I don’t want to see any development here.

We visit this area every year and explore the rock pools and sand dunes. We have also just started some planting. I think it’s a beautiful place.

We want to look after this area because of the special marine animals and plants here but we could use the money from visitors to help protect the area and tell visitors why it is so special.

Eco-tourist

My personal opinion:

When I go to another country I love seeing places of natural beauty. I don’t always have a lot of time so places to stay and things to do are important to me.

Fact sheet published by Department of Conservation, Poneke Area, P.O. Box 5086, Wellington.

2008.

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Contacts and resources •

Department of Conservation, Poneke Area office: phone (04) 472 5821, e-mail wellingtonco@doc.govt.nz •

Education Officer, Museum of Wellington City and Sea: (04) 472 8904. Arrange a visit to find out more about how people have used the harbour in the past, see the audio-visual presentation of Mäori legends about the harbour and coast.

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Wellington Arts Centre: (04) 385 1929, e-mail: artscentre@wcc.govt.nz

Websites •

www.doc.govt.nz — species information and activities, including a Marine Education Kit (community/ schools/field trips/Auckland/Marine Reserves).

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www.fish.govt.nz — recreational fishing/collecting rules and limits.

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www.penguin.net.nz — little blue penguin information , including how to build little blue penguin shelters.

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www.kcc.org.nz — species information and activities.

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www.emr.org.nz — information about the Experiencing Marine Reserves programme •

www.fish.govt.nz — Ministry of Fisheries website contains online student and teacher resource.

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www.treasuresofthesea.org.nz — World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) information about marine life.

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www.octopus.org.nz — activities and information for planning a visit to the Island Bay Marine Education Centre.

Fact sheet published by Department of Conservation, Poneke Area, P.O. Box 5086, Wellington.

2008.

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