Te Puna Umanga Venture Taranaki, the regional development agency, has announced four new community-based science
projects have secured funding through the Curious Minds Taranaki programme. This brings the total number of projects
funded to 76, with $1,218,164 in funding distributed since 2015.
Led by Venture Taranaki and funded by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE), the second round of
2023 Curious Minds projects brings together an impressive array of local and national expertise alongside Taranaki
students tackling scientific questions and challenges inspired by the communities they affect.
Kelvin Wright, Chief Executive, Te Puna Umanga Venture Taranaki says, "Venture Taranaki delivers Curious Minds to
support our region’s innovation ecosystem, nurture Science Technology Engineering Mathematics (STEM) education in our
young people, and foster community collaboration. There have been some fantastic research findings for Taranaki as a
result, like Project Reef in Pātea, and we look forward to seeing our latest recipients’ projects take shape."
The newly funded projects encompass a range of investigations with Taranaki youth central to driving forward the
initiatives. 'Native Space-planted Systems' focuses on exploring the benefits of native tree-pasture systems and how
they can be integrated into current farming practices to improve growth as well as potentially offsetting climate levies
for farmers. This project involves Makahu School students, local farmers, and is led by PhD researcher, Dr. Tom
Mackay-Smith, from Verdantia Research.
'Naturally Native' involves student-led riparian planting initiatives from Te Kura o Mimitangiatua (Mimi School),
supported by Te Rūnanga ō Ngāti Mutunga, and the Mt Messenger Alliance. They will be working to enhance river health
with an ultimate goal of setting up a plant nursery at their school to supply the eco-sourced seedlings they grow to
local farmers and landowners who want to support local environmental efforts.
In a clash of collaboration and innovation the East Taranaki Environment Collective, a past recipient of the Curious
Minds grant, plan to build on their expertise in pest management and environmental restoration and engage with school
groups to develop a comprehensive tool for evaluating environmental health. The tool aims to serve as a reliable and
central resource for a range of conservation groups.
From environmental projects to championing female wellbeing, the fourth project ‘Her Strength’ is a science-based
programme to empower young female athletes and identify ways to retain girls in sport through adolescence. Recognising 1
in 2 girls will drop out of sport during puberty, Dr Julia Casadio has received funding for the project which aims to
build confidence in young women and enhance their sporting experience.
Thom Adams, Curious Minds Coordinator adds, "What is particularly exciting about the projects funded by Curious Minds
Taranaki is that each one has been designed to ensure that the knowledge created can be used by future groups. That’s
what science is all about, sharing discoveries for a better tomorrow."
The Curious Minds Participatory Science Platform is a world-first initiative, where scientists and communities
collaborate to create exciting and meaningful research that is locally relevant.
The next funding round will open from 21 August 2023, and research professionals and community groups can apply for
project funding up to $20,000.
www.venture.org.nz/science-and-research/psp-curious-mindsADDITIONAL INFORMATIONAbout the projectsNaturally Native
Students of Rimu class at Te Kura o Mimitangiatua (Mimi School) have been investigating waterways as part of their
Kaitiakitanga unit. The research uncovered the concerning finding that the water temperature of their local streams is
higher than it should be. They want to look at how riparian planting can improve river health, prioritising native
plants over introduced species with the ultimate goal of setting up a plant nursery at their school.
They will be joined in their investigation by Te Rūnanga ō Ngāti Mutunga and the Mt Messenger Alliance to compare
different river sites. Using the data collected, they’ll be able to decide which plants would be the best candidates to
propagate. The seedlings they grow will be made available to local farmers and landowners who want to support local
environmental efforts.Native Space-planted Systems in Taranaki
In his PhD research, Dr Tom Mackay-Smith of Verdantia Research discovered that pasture production can be significantly
greater under isolated mature kānuka trees compared to open pasture in the same paddock, and kānuka trees should also
provide other benefits to farms through prevention of erosion and animal welfare. This project will investigate how this
knowledge and low density native tree-pasture systems can be integrated into current farming practices. Additionally
they want to know how planting native trees in this manner could be used to offset potential climate levies for farmers.
The scientists of Verdantia Research will be working with farmers and the students of Makahu School to test out their
prototype tree guards. They’ll be measuring seedling growth and survival, and working with farmers to figure out how
their science can translate to the working farm.Her Strength
Retaining girls in sport through adolescence has been shown to increase health, wellbeing, and confidence.
Unfortunately, 1 in 2 girls will drop out of sport during puberty. Dr Julia Casadio is developing a science-based
programme to help young women athletes, their parents, and their coaches, navigate this journey and enhance their sports
experience.
To do this, Dr Casadio is running a series of workshops to enable collaboration between experts, girls in sports and the
people supporting them to learn how our understanding of puberty can be best applied by those most in need of support.Let’s Not Beat Around the Bush
East Taranaki Environment Collective have been engaging in pest management and environmental restoration for many years
and are now using the knowledge accrued over this time to develop a tool for evaluating environment health. They’ll be
working with other conservation groups, and a local school, to see how different sources of information can be combined
into a quick, easy instrument.
School students will develop their own environmental monitoring tools and present them to ETEC, opening up the
opportunity for fresh new perspectives to breed innovation. From this combined effort, a single tool will be developed
and tested in a number of different environments to ensure its usability for a range of conservation groups.