Major scientific opportunity for local schools

Media release – 11 November 2013

Major scientific opportunity for local schools

Significant funding from philanthropic sources means that Canterbury, Marlborough, and West Coast schools will be able to send students to a major scientific education opportunity in Canterbury at no cost.

Students and their teachers are invited to attend the Nina Valley Ecoblitz near Lewis Pass in March 2014. The event is being organised by Hurunui College, Lincoln University, and the Department of Conservation (DOC), working with Environment Canterbury and the Hurunui District Council.

Tim Kelly, the chair of the organising committee, says: “School enrolments to date have been good with over 150 pupils and staff booked to attend. The great news is that thanks to the generosity of organisations like the Brian Mason Scientific and Technical Trust, the Canterbury Community Trust, Lincoln University and DOC, we have enough money to pay the expenses, including food and travel, for up to 200. This is especially good news for low decile schools whose families, while they highly value outdoor education opportunities, might normally struggle to be able to send their youngsters to an event like this.”

This unique, not-to-be missed opportunity has been more than a year in planning with DOC, Hurunui College and Lincoln University to ensure the students and scientists will get the most out of the experience, while protecting the very environment they are studying. High school and university students will get the chance to work with more than 30 expert scientists, covering all aspects of New Zealand’s flora and fauna. Activities students can try include electric fishing, animal trapping, kiwi listening, bat tracking, and much more as they help identify and catalogue the full range of plant and animal species in the Nina Valley.  Scientists are confident that, given the intensive investigation planned, a new species will be discovered in the Nina Valley.

The base camp will be Boyle River Education Centre where most of the pupils will be accommodated under canvas.

“The Ecoblitz is open to year 10 to 13 high school students and university students,” Kelly says. “It is geared towards students who are passionate about biology and/or research. Students need to be reliable, and fit to work in the field over two days and nights. It is an especially good opportunity for students thinking of going on to university to study one of the biological sciences.”

Kelly says the Ecoblitz is not designed to be used as an NCEA assessment opportunity, although the information collected from the event may be used for assessment purposes afterward. This includes species distribution results, and information garnered from expert workshops on adaptation, evolution, 1080, and identification of prey species through analysis of the predator’s faeces (DNA barcoding).

The Ecoblitz will begin on the evening of Friday 14 March and conclude on the afternoon of Sunday 16 March 2014.

“This is a significant, and rare, learning opportunity for Canterbury and we encourage schools to make a commitment now so they don’t miss out. We will have to close off registrations very soon,” says Kelly.

More details at: http://ninavalleyecoblitz.com

ENDS

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