stream studies Archives - Enviroschools Marlborough

September 16, 2025

Discovering Life in the Awa at McKendry Park

A small group of tamariki at Springlands Kindergarten have been making regular visits to McKendry Park. While there, they made an exciting discovery - tuna (eels) living in the small awa that flows through the park. Watching and feeding the eels quickly became a favourite activity, but it also sparked a question: What else lives in the awa? To find out, the group invited Angela to join one of their visits and share her knowledge about the invertebrates that make the awa their home. Wary of the eels and grateful for her waders to keep warm and dry, Angela demonstrated how to gently catch invertebrates. She showed the tamariki how to lift stones from the...

by Enviroschools Marlborough

April 9, 2025

Enviroschools stories General

Exploring the Health of the Awa: Water is Life

We all interact with water every day—but how often do we stop to consider where it comes from, where it goes, and the life it supports along the way? This was the driving question for the Year 7 and 8 students at Fairhall School as they explored the health of their local awa as part of their inquiry, Water is Life. The first challenge? Choosing a suitable waterway to study. The students quickly discovered that not all rivers flow year-round, and appearances can be deceiving. While Doctor’s Creek at Benmorven Rd and Fairhall River seemed like ideal study sites, they often run dry in summer. Further downstream, Doctor’s Creek resurfaces—but in a degraded state, making it...

by Enviroschools Marlborough

April 5, 2024

Enviroschools stories General

Tua Marina Stream Study

The Tuamarina Awa is a tributary of the Wairau Awa and flows through the largest remaining wetland in the Wairau catchment, the Para Wetland. Unfortunately, the water quality of the Tuamarina awa is rated as marginal, unacceptable water quality that needs to be improved. The awa passes Tua Marina school on the opposite side of SH1. It’s not an easy place to get to but the senior students wanted to learn more about it. Particularly its health and what they could do to care for it now and in the future. With a whole school inquiry into science, they leapt at the chance to investigate the awa with a scientific lens. They studied the cycle...

by Enviroschools Marlborough

October 4, 2023

Enviroschools stories

Grovetown School Student Scientists

The children in Waihi class at Grovetown School have been investigating the health of the creek that runs alongside their school. After the Grovetown School students first visit to observe the creek they felt pretty confident that it wasn’t in a very good state. But the children wanted some facts to back up what they saw. The children named the weed on top of the creek Frog Porridge. Using the Enviroschools Stream Study Kit they measured the flow, temperature, and clarity of the water, before identifying the creatures that live in the creek. Unfortunately the only creatures they found were small snails. All their tests of the creek failed to meet healthy...

by Enviroschools Marlborough

June 17, 2021

Enviroschools stories

The Taylor River: Feeling the Love!

Blenheim students have been loving their river lately: learning about it, connecting with its natural spaces and raising awareness about how we can all take care of it. Whether you visit it as a way to get safely from A to B, to exercise your dog, to enjoy the sunshine during your lunch break or to teach your child to ride their bike: the Taylor River is a much-used and enjoyed part of Blenheim. As well as being a popular spot for recreation, the river is valued for its important role in flood protection, serving as a conduit for stormwater during rainfall events. It is home to a variety of native and introduced freshwater...

by Enviroschools Marlborough

April 12, 2021

General

Summer Stream Studies

Term 1 has seen plenty of students getting out of the classroom and into a nearby river or stream to learn about healthy waterways. Students from the Home School Co-operative Learners group investigated Pukatea Stream as part of a day out at White’s Bay. They were impressed with the amount of life in the stream, especially the large banded kōkopu found in a shady pool. They got to see the kōkopu’s jumping ability first hand as it leapt from the container and wriggled back to its watery home. Tamariki were concerned that they didn't find any kōura - the group has found lots of them in this stream in the past. Maybe they were...

by Enviroschools Marlborough

February 17, 2021

News-and-funding

Sustainable Action Ideas | Term 1 2021

Take a look at our list of ways that your students could take action towards sustainability this term. Click here to link through to the list in our Enviroschools Marlborough google drive....

by Enviroschools Marlborough

February 3, 2021

News-and-funding

Freshwater Education Programme for schools

Explore and learn about Marlborough's freshwater habitats with Marlborough District Council's Freshwater Education Programme. Take a look at the sessions on offer through MDC's Freshwater Education Programme. These sessions are available free-of-charge to Marlborough schools and can be tailored to meet your needs. Contact Anna Crowe to discuss your requirements or to make a booking. ...

by Enviroschools Marlborough

December 17, 2020

Enviroschools stories

Enviroschools on camp at Pine Valley

Term 4 is traditionally a great term for getting out-of-doors and into the bush or stream, especially if you are on camp! At Mill Flat in Pine Valley, Anna and Angela have been working as a team so that students are able to study the diversity of life in the river and in the bush surrounding it as part of their camp activities. Mill Flat is the perfect location to explore our wonderful diversity of native insects, animals, freshwater life and plants. Adult (winged) Stenoperla Stenoperla (aquatic) nymph One of the insect species living in Pine Valley Stream is the endemic large green stonefly ‘Stenoperla’. Its presence in the awa...

by Enviroschools Marlborough

December 19, 2019

Enviroschools stories

Blenheim School: Kaitiaki for the awa

Tamariki at Blenheim School have been thinking about how they care for a place that is very special to their school: The Taylor River. The Envirogroup got together to think about kaitiakitanga, and talked about all of the different kaitiaki that care for the Taylor awa. These include ātua (e.g.: Tangaroa and Tamanuiterā), taonga species (e.g. tuna | eels), iwi/mana whenua, council, and community members. The students discovered that they can be kaitiaki for the awa too, as the more kaitiaki the awa has, the healthier the awa will be! They all had loads of examples of why the river is special to them. It turns out that they have already been doing some things...

by Enviroschools Marlborough

stream studies Tag