16 April, 2013

Water quality focus for NRC teacher workshop

Nineteen teachers are set to attend a special Northland Regional Council workshop highlighting the environmental education teaching opportunities offered by investigating the region’s many waterways.

Teachers from Far North, Whangarei and Kaipara schools will gather on Thursday 09 May at Northland Regional Council’s Whangarei offices for the day-long environmental education workshop.

Environmental Education Officer Susan Botting says the workshop is part of the regional council’s ‘Waiora Northland Water’ project, focussed on further boosting the health of the North’s waterways.

The multi-pronged project draws together a wide range of water quality-focussed council activities, including catchment care, researching community waterway values and uses and working with industry groups such as Fonterra and DairyNZ.

With that in mind, the council decided on a water quality theme for its 2013 teacher’s environmental education workshop.

“Water quality/waterways offer an incredible range of environmental education opportunities for teachers in all sorts of fields from the sciences to the arts,” says Ms Botting.

She says as part of the workshop teachers will be hands-on in a local stream using a special water quality analysis kit, hear about the regional council’s latest water quality improvement projects and take part in a fun water-quality focussed mock resource consent hearing.

Teachers from a wide variety of schools from Cape Reinga to Ruawai will be attending the workshop.

“The workshop will empower teachers to boost their water quality-themed environmental education, in turn giving students opportunities to get involved in caring for Northland’s creeks, streams and rivers.”

ENDS

© Scoop Media