Schools "adopt" areas of National Park

February 19th, 2014
[Press release]

Four schools will adopt and improve sections of the Abel Tasman National Park, with Motueka High School being responsible for an area between Anchorage and Watering Cove.

The "Adopt a Section" programme is an initiative from Project Janszoon and the Department of Conservation. The schools will trial the innovative new educational programme, which will see students designing and implementing their own five-year ecological plans for their area in consultation with DOC and other experts.

Project Janszoon education advisor Wendy Reeve says the programme is based on an inquiry-based learning model and will be student driven.

"Students learn more deeply when they engage in actions that require them to apply knowledge to real world problems. We want to nurture stewardship and the concept of kaitiakitanga in our young people so they will get to know their section of the Park, connect to it and want to protect it in the future," she says.

Project Janszoon's 30-year vision is to secure the existing ecological values of the Park, then focus on restoration and future proofing.

The "Adopt a Section" programme is designed to integrate with the curriculum in subjects as diverse as outdoor education, science, maths, literacy, history, culture geography and even the arts as a source of inspiration.

The four schools selected for the pilot programme are Motupipi Primary School in Golden Bay which will be responsible for an area of land at Taupo Point, Golden Bay High School will take action to improve the former Hadfields Farm at Awaroa, Nelson College for Girls Preparatory will work at Te Puketea Bay and Motueka High School will engage with an area between Anchorage and Watering Cove.

DOC partnership ranger Rebecca Martin says the programme will be a "hands on" way for the students to learn about ecology and conservation, and to think about the long term processes involved in ecological restoration.

"Through the development of a five year restoration plan for each site, the students will get to take ownership of their projects and see the long term benefits and outcomes of the conservation work they are doing," she says.

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