Wairarapa’s locally owned community newspaper
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2021
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Students create new solutions Young people are learning about the power of both art and science to protect our environment. ERIN KAVANAGH-HALL reports. Wairarapa youth are giving a voice to their local waterways – in the form of hundreds of hand-sculpted river creatures scattered throughout Masterton. For the past two years, students from Makoura College and Te Kura Kaupapa Maori o Wairarapa have taken part in Mokomoko, a community education programme funded by the Department of Conservation and Greater Wellington Regional Council and facilitated by Kahungunu ki Wairarapa. Mokomoko aims to empower young people to become kaitiaki (guardians) of Wairarapa’s waterways – educating about local rivers and their inhabitants, monitoring water conditions, and exploring solutions to combat environmental degradation. This year’s programme has also had a strong creative component: with guidance from Mokomoko facilitator and renowned ceramics artist
Sam Ludden, the students have created close to 100 clay geckos, which they have installed in public spaces throughout the community. The purpose of the students’ “ceramic graffiti” is to make visible the tiny river dwellers which, though they may seem small and inconsequential, Students have made ceramic kokopu to install around Masterton’s storm drains – raising awareness of the impact of stormwater on waterways.
Mokomoko facilitator Sam Ludden shows students from Makoura College how to feed tuna in the Makoura Stream. PHOTOS/SUPPLIED
play a crucial role in our ecosystem. Native geckos (known as mokomoko in te reo – after which the programme is named) pollinate native plants and disperse seeds through eating fruit – and are rapidly disappearing, due to water pollutants and urban development. The next phase of the students’ project is a school of ceramic kokopu – one of the galaxiid fish species endemic to New Zealand to be inserted around Masterton’s stormwater drains.
Ninety per cent of the town’s stormwater drains empty directly into the Makoura Stream and, eventually, into the Waipoua River – sweeping waste and refuse into the water and posing danger to the creatures within. Each of the clay kokopu, to be installed once classes resume next year, are emblazoned with the names of the creeks which feed the Makoura Stream – such as Makakaweka, Waiwaka, Kiripuni and Mangamutu. “When we give something a name, we’re
giving it personality and an identity – and therefore, giving it value,” Ludden said. “When water just leads to a nameless drain, it’s easier to abuse and ignore.” Ludden, a long-time environmental advocate, said art plays a significant role in starting political and social dialogue – and his students are excited to continue to the conversation. “They are learning all about positive, creative Continued on page 3
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