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Local teachers and Enviroschool leads gathered for a free Moanamana professional development day hosted by Nelson Yacht Club last week, designed to equip them with essential skills for integrating marine science into their curriculum.
Led by Sally Carson and Glenis Paul from the New Zealand Marine Studies Centre, alongside Yachting New Zealand education lead Alisa Torgersen, the day focused on implementing citizen science tools within school planning.
Moanamana is the third and final module of Yachting New Zealand's RŪNĀ schools engagement programme. It is designed to engage schools, kura and their communities in marine tiakitanga projects that will build New Zealand's Blue Belt.
According to Torgersen, the event provided educators with a unique opportunity to connect with the marine environment.
"It was a fantastic day of community building and skill development. The support from the Marine Studies Centre was invaluable in helping us create a toolkit for schools to record data on marine environments," Torgersen said.
Teachers and Enviroschool leads gathered at Nelson Yacht Club. Photos / Alisa Torgersen
The initiative is part of a broader effort to engage schools in hands-on marine conservation, with Moanamana set to be rolled out in up to five clubs starting from January 2025.
"Teachers will be able to choose from three sets of four learning experiences, designed to integrate seamlessly into their current topics or serve as standalone units. These modules will follow the successful format of Kōrinorino and Kōkōkaha," Torgersen added.
Two Auckland schools, Birkenhead Primary School and Bucklands Beach Intermediate, have already started testing one of the citizen science tools, Marine Metre Squared (Mm2), as part of the Revive Our Gulf programme. This hands-on approach allows students to actively contribute to marine conservation while gaining practical experience in scientific observation.
"We're thrilled to see schools embracing these tools, and we can't wait to see the positive impact on both the students and our marine environments," Torgersen said.
For more information on the Moanamana citizen science toolkit, click here.
