Celebration of Learning at Berhampore School

Two buddy classes from Berhampore School invited the rest of their school and local ECE The Park Early Learning along to a Celebration of Learning about Pae Kawakawa awa.

Inspired by the Enviroschools Ōwhiro Bay stream event in May, ākonga have gone on to travel the length of the culverted awa near their school – Pae Kawakawa and undertaken a beach clean-up where it meets the moana at Tapu Te Ranga Marine Reserve. They created a waiata about sea turtles and researched about plastic in the ocean.

To share their learning a few students from each buddy class were leaders at activity stations supported by Enviroschools and Predator Free Wellington.

They shared with the ECE manuhiri and their school peers how a whaitua or catchment worked. That water travels down a valley and depending on whether there is vegetation or a cleared area affects how the land is impacted by rainwater. Students incorporated this into their play, at lunchtime they recreated the catchment model in the school sandpit.

Learning how a whaitua/ catchment works

Students were able to act out the migration of tuna/eel through an obstacle course that highlighted fish barriers with our culverted waterways.

Students taking part in the obstacle course

Students wove Ikawai Taura, a plaited fish ladder after learning of this aspiration from hapū Te Atīawa ki Whakarongotai to minimise plastic in the waterways and ocean. Current practice is installing plastic mussel spat ropes, which disintegrate and end up washed into the ocean.  Students harvested Tī Kōuka and soaked these in preparation for the celebration day. These were then woven into a rope to install as habitat for the Banded Kōkopu and Waikōura living at the open end of Pae Kawakawa near Te Wharepōuri Street Community Garden.

Weaving Ikawai Taura, a plaited fish ladder

Another activity was making visible the life that lives along Pae Kawakawa awa. Students drew with chalk what has been recorded at the beginning open end of the stream, found under the ground in culverts along The Parade in Pae Kawakawa and what they saw at Tapu Te Ranga beach during the clean up where the stream meets the ocean. Many spoke of the jellyfish and sea sponge they found and one ākonga remembered a black crab with yellow markings he would really like to research further. Students measured and recreated the size of the culvert in chalk to understand the habitat tuna/ eel are calling home.

Chalk art showing the life that lives along Pae Kawakawa awa

 

The Parade culvert

 

David from Predator Free Wellington working with students

Predator Free Wellington came along to support students to share their learning about tracking and trapping and how a healthy ngahere supports the ecosystem of an awa. Berhampore School’s conservation group were keen to show David of Predator Free their traps and bird houses and shared with him how they record what they catch on a spreadsheet. David was able to advise them to file down the entrance to their traps to make it more enticing, and to ensure it was placed in a stable position along a fence line. He shared they may be able to have another trap donated to the school.