Innovative Education Project Returns to Ōkārito

This is the second Kiwi Forever week to be held in the township, just north of Franz Josef, following the project’s huge success in 2009.

“Last year’s Kiwi Forever project was one of the most rewarding work experiences of my life,” says DOC kiwi ranger, Ieuan Davies, who is managing DOC’s involvement with the project for a second year.

“It’s fantastic to see how engaged and enthusiastic young people can be about the conservation work we’re doing.”

“This has been a trip of a life-time. I have learnt so much, not only from DOC and Ngati Maahaki but also from every single participant, the teachers and the student-teachers involved. Ōkārito is such a beautiful place to learn. I walk away with new skills, knowledge, friends and experiences and plans for the future. Kia ora rawa atu”, reported 17-year-old student Rosina Scott-Fyfe in 2009.

Kiwi Forever is a partnership between DOC, Untouched World Charitable Trust, Ngāi Tahu and BNZ Save the Kiwi Trust.

“Despite the efforts of many people around the country, kiwi remain endangered, some species critically so,” says BNZ Save the Kiwi Trust executive director, Michelle Impey. “Saving our national bird is going to be an ongoing issue so it’s vital we educate our young people; giving them a sense of place in the fight to save kiwi, and showing them what action they can take to save kiwi and the environment kiwi live in.”

Members of the DOC Franz Josef team will be working closely with the year 12 and 13 students to teach them the techniques used to save the critically endangered rowi kiwi species. The students will also learn about the wider ecosystem and threats posed by introduced predators and weed species.

The 15 students taking part in the programme,along with five pre-service teachers were selected for their ability to act as leaders of the future and are expected to take their new understanding of conservation, threatened species management and sustainability back to their schools and communities.

“Ōkārito and Kiwi Forever, as with all our partner programmes with DOC, the BNZ and local iwi, is about an investment in young leaders of tomorrow,” says Untouched World Executive Director Mark Prain. “Given the very recent tragedy on the Coast, it is an enormous credit to these students and their schools, that they see Kiwi Forever as a positive opportunity at this time.”

“It won’t be an easy week for the students,” says Ieuan. “They will face the physical challenge of long days tracking kiwi through thick swampy forest, as well as the intellectual challenge of examining the role the kiwi plays in the construction of the New Zealand identity, and the impact humans can have on the ecosystem the birds depend on.”

The students will stay at the community campground and will contribute to community life by assisting with landscaping and weed removal work in addition to their kiwi conservation work.

New Zealand schools wanting a chance to involve their students in the fight to save kiwi can get started with the Kiwi Forever resource pack, an education resource developed by the BNZ Save the Kiwi Trust. The pack contains four learning sequences targeting levels two through five in the New Zealand Curriculum. They incorporate experiences and activity ideas in the areas of social studies, maths, English, the arts, technology and education for sustainability.

Find out more information or order a Kiwi Forever resource pack.