Mountains to Sea
Explore how everything is interconnected
Explore what activities impact
waterways from here...
What
Explore
W ho can we asrke?
t o f ind out mo
are our
waterways like here?
W hat
How
where water
comes from and where it goes?
W hat
are some
human impacts on our water?
W hat happens t o
it in bet ween?
same
act ions
What
can we take to
protect our oceans?
How do we
show it?
W hat
Explore
animals
and plants are found
here where the fresh
water meets the ocean?
act ions
traditions and
Maori perspectives around water
What
can we take to
and ocenas in your area.
create a sustainable future?
we
How can
,make a
difference on land and
in our oceans?
connected
are we to the wai in
our area?
do we
know about impacts
along our waterways on
Are the ecosystems
land?
the
in
the mountains as in
different the ocean?
ecosystems are found
along the journey to the
ocean?
W hat
Where do you spend
most of your time on
this journey?
W hat
impacts our oceans
biodiversity?
W hat
do we use
our oceans
for?
Explore
the unique marine
life in our oceans
Maui 's dolphin
(Cephalorhyn
chus hectori
maui)
atross
Royal alb pomophor)
ae
(Diomede
Spotted black grouper
(Epinephelus daemelii)
Not many people know about
the spotted black grouper. They
are a large fish that can reach 2
m in length and weigh at least
80 kg. They are unique territorial
reef fishes and are completely
protected in New Zealand waters.
Maui’s dolphin is only found only
on the west coast of the North
Island of New Zealand and
nowhere else in the world. It is
New Zealand’s rarest dolphin and
is the world’s smallest dolphin.
Hector’s dolphin are found in the
waters around the South Island
and are more abundant than
the Maui’s dolphin. Although
very similar they are genetically
distinct.
Petrels and shearwaters are also
tube-nose seabirds.
Albatrosses mate for life and
often return to the same nesting
sites where they hatched. They
are able produce young when
they are 10 years old, and can
continue to breed up to 60 years
old.
Hector’s and Maui’s dolphins
are known to Māori by other
names, including Tutumairekurai,
Aihe, Papakanua, Upokohue,
Tukuperu, Tupoupou and
Hopuhopu.
Maui’s dolphins are a distinctive
grey colour and have white and
black markings and a short snout.
Maui’s and Hector’s dolphin have
a well-rounded black dorsal fin.
Females can grow to 1.7 metres
long and weigh up to 50 kg. The
males are slightly smaller and
lighter. They can live up to 20
years. Females are not sexually
mature until they reach seven to
nine years of age and they only
produce one calf every two to
four years.
Maui’s dolphins send out high
frequency clicks that bounce off
surrounding objects and fish, this
is called echolocation. It gives the
dolphins a detailed picture of their
surroundings and they use it to
find food.
The Maui’s dolphin is critically
endangered and they are close
to becoming extinct. They
face many threats every day
in our oceans, and the death
of individual dolphins has a
huge impact on their ability to
successfully breed and maintain
or increase their population size.
There are 24 albatross species
in the world. New Zealand is the
breeding and nursery ground for
14 of these species.
Nineteen of these species,
including the royal albatross, are
now at risk. They face a declining
population size, mostly from
fishing threats such as long-lining
and trawling.
Albatrosses eat fish and squid
and can live for days on the
ocean. They sleep floating on
the surface of the water and their
only need for land is for breeding
and nesting sites. They have a
special tube-nose which enables
them to ‘drip out’ salt from the
ocean water.
We would like to aknowledge http://www.doc.govt.nz/conservation/marine-and-coastal/
for the information found on these pages.
Royal albatrosses only lay one
egg every two years, usually
in November. They sit on their
egg for about 20 months, that’s
around 80 days, and then both
parents look after and feed their
chick for about 8 months.
They are a very large bird. The
wingspan of a royal albatross
is 3.5 metres from wingtip to
wingtip, and weighs 8 kilograms.
Albatrosses often choose nest
sites on cliff edges so they can
take off on the wind that rises as
it hits the cliff.
The spotted black grouper
(Epinephelus daemelii) are
known in Australia as black cod,
saddled rock cod and saddletail
grouper.
The Kermadec Islands Marine
Reserve in New Zealand is where
the largest and only breeding
population for the spotted black
grouper is found.
They are found on shallow reefs
at Three Kings Islands and along
Northland’s rocky east coast.
Small juveniles have been found
as far south as Hokitika on the
west coast, and also in Palliser
Bay towards the east. Australia
estuarine habitats are important
nursery habitats for juveniles.
However these estuarine habitats
are declining and there is a
constant threat of pollution and
human impact.
There is little known about them
as a species. They appear
to grow slowly, and they feed
on smaller reef fishes and
crustaceans like shrimps, crabs
and rock lobsters.
Small fish are mostly females
but they are able to change sex,
becoming males when reaching a
length of about 110cm.
Due to their large size, territorial
behaviour and natural curiosity
they are vulnerable to a variety
of fishing methods. In eastern
Australia they are considered to
be overfished and threatened.
The spotted black grouper
is protected throughout their
Australian range, as well as in
New Zealand.
e
g
n
a
Identify
the
h
C
n
o
t
c
e
l
f
Re
Current Situation
Think about what you have achieved
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Is this a long term or short term project?
How can we monitor changes?
How do we know you have made a difference?
How will you celebrate your achievements?
Who will we tell?
What didn’t go so well?
What will we do differently next time?
How will we record our inquiry and action?
Measuring change
You can use the Enviroschools measuring change
tool to record information to share.
www.measuringchange.org.nz
How connected do you
feel to our marine
environments now?
Is it the same or different?
Do you feel like you
now have an increased
awareness and are able
to make a difference in our
world?
Take Action
‘Free the Sea’ is a call to action.
What action will you, your school and your
community take to Free the Sea?
Who do you need support and help from?
Who do we tell what we are doing?
Hold an event to show the nation how your
inspiring ideas and actions can come to life
with your t-shirts, designs and actions. Make a
difference, stand up and free the sea.
Action is a positive way to create change in our
environment. Action can be as big or as small as
you like.
Remember the interconnectedness between our
land and ocean. Is there something you could do
on land that would impact in positive way on our
oceans?
Find out about our marine life
We have showcased three marine species
in this resource. You may like to make up
tags of your information and display in your
school or community or send them into the
Enviroschools foundation. The template for the
tag is in the resource.
What is the marine environment like?
Explore the threats and impacts on our oceans
and the life they sustain.
Investigate the interconnectedness
between land and marine
environments.
Values
Education for
•
Excellence
–
sustainability (EFS) –
overcoming challenges and
participation and action
aiming
high
Develop a sense of responsibility
•Innovation, inquiry and curiosity – finding
through participation and action as
out more and exploring alternatives for
individuals (and small groups) to address
change
the issues and effects of water quality in
•
Community
and participation -for the
the community.
common good
Make choices about possible
• Ecological sustainability – care and
actions and justify these
responsibility for the environment
choices.
• Integrity – honest, responsible and
accountable
• Diversity
Vision
EFS provides
opportunities for our young
people to become confident,
connected, actively involved
lifelong learners.
Is there anything special or
unique about the oceans
closest to you?
Explore
Alternatives
Now you have gathered a pool of knowledge
about our oceans, marine life and the impacts
that threaten our oceans, is there anything you
would change?
Is there anything we could be doing to help
reduce the threats on our marine life and ocean
environments?
What have others done already, locally and
globally?.
What actions could we take to make a change?
How could we inspire others to help ‘Free the
Sea’?
Principles
EFS places students
at the centre of teaching
and learning.
• It challenges and engages
them.
• It is forward looking – allowing
students to explore alternatives
and take action for the future.
• It is an inclusive pedagogy
that affirms New
Zealand’s unique
identity.
learning areas
Science level 1 – 3
Covers the nature of science at
all levels
Living world
• Life processes and ecology
Planet earth and beyond
• Interacting systems
Science level 4
Living world
• Life processes
• Ecology
• Evolution
Key competencies
• Thinking
• Using language, symbols and
texts
•Managing self
• Relating to others
• Participating and contributing
Resources & links
Buy a t-shirt and support
Enviroschools and Free
the Sea. Follow your t-shirt
through a sustainable
process.
www.mirandabrown.co.nz/Free_
The_Sea.htm
www.enviroschools.org.nz/
A global cenus of marine life
http://censeam.niwa.co.nz/
BOP resource
http://www.reaf.org.nz/
Videos, virtual field trips and
aquarium guides
http://www.otago.ac.nz/
marinestudies/database/home.
htm
http://www.wwf.org.nz/take_
action/ocean/
Information/education/
conservation
http://www.marinenz.org.nz/
www.oceanswatch.org/
New Zealand Department of
Conservation
http://www.doc.govt.nz/
conservation/marine-and-coastal/
www.wwf.org.nz/take_action/
ocean/
Fun ocean facts for kids
www.sciencekids.co.nz/
sciencefacts/earth/oceans.html
www.niwa.co.nz
New Zealand’s first in the world to
catalogue all its species through
all of time.