Te Waihora Sustainability Project

About the Project: The Te Waihora Sustainability Project was lead by Dr. Murray Broom, Brittney Coutts, and myself (Morgan). The traditional name of Te Waihora (Lake Ellesmere) is Te Kete Ika o Rākaihautū which means "the food basket of Rākaihautū". A description of the project written by Dr. Murray Broom is below.

"In this project we propose to engage hard to reach students from a low decile community with science and technology. Students will study an environmental issue within their own backyard, Te Waihora (Lake Ellesmere) and some its tributaries. This traditional and culturally important waterway for Ngai Tahu, Te Kete Ika A Rakaihautu, the fish basket of Rakaihautu, has been severely degraded. Our hypothesis is that if the environmental problem is clearly understood, and if key environmental questions posed can be answered by students using new innovative DNA based methods, the environmental problem becomes a stepping-stone for effective engagement of the students with science and technology. Students will look for signatures of two important microorganisms in Te Waihora tributaries. The first test is for E. coli, typically found in water systems where there is animal effluent leaching into waterways. The second test is for toxin producing cyanobacteria.Our project will begin with a field trip, introducing the environmental problem at Te Waihora, and meetings with interest groups including Iwi, Environment Canterbury and the Ellesmere Trust. There will be teaching sessions focussed on freshwater ecosystems, microorganisms, DNA basics and molecular biology. These teachings will be complemented with hands-on analysis of water samples collected at key locations in tributaries to Te Waihora. The students will extract DNA from their samples and analyse for E. coli and Phormidium DNA signatures using the DNAiTECH (LAMP). Water samples from pristine waterways within NZ National park will be used as water sample controls. Students will analyse the data, discuss and draw conclusions and report their findings. The program will occur over two weeks and will involve 14-20 students from a low decile area school. Students will work in pairs, with up to 7-10 DNAiTECH instruments available for the project.We believe that the exciting combination of an important real-world environmental issue, empowering students through the introduction of a new molecular technology for schools, which harnesses their own phones as a real-time qPCR readers will be a drawcard for engaging students with science and technology."

- Dr. Murray Broom

Sustainability

DNA

Microorganisms

Concentrations

Water Quality

DNA Technology

Statistics NCEA

Sustainability NCEA

More About the Project

This project ran for two weeks and was the first time handheld DNA Technologies have been used in a high school science lab in Aotearoa. Students from years 11-13 participated and each had their own individualised booklet with selected NCEA credits. View the DNAiTech Facebook page for more photos and a summary of each day.

Resources

Haeata College_Presentation_Students.pptx

Sustainability project PowerPoint

Overview of the project.

Sustainability Ted Talk

For hundreds of years, Māori have strategically tended, harvested and protected food resources around Te Waihora (Lake Ellesmere) in Canterbury. As kaitohutohu tikanga whenua (cultural land management advisor), Mananui’s role involves educating the people who own and work on the 350 farms in the Selwyn Waihora water zone about these indigenous conservation practices—mahinga kai values—such as the protection of water quality and Māori archaeological sites.

Listen to Mananui Ramsden deliver a TEDxChristchurch talk about sustainability.

WaitahawaiwaterofCanterburysection4DiscoveringyourlocalwaterwayLakeEllesmereTeWaihoraandItsTributaries.PDF

Waitaha Wai Document

This document contains the following information:

Te Waihora (Lake Ellesmere) Location
Te Waihora Ownership and Management
Natural History of Te Waihora
Māori History of the Area
European History of the Area
Ecology of Te Waihora
The State of Te Waihora
The Tributaries
Management
Activities

WET-Lake-Access-Brochure1.pdf

Te Waihora Brochure

From: http://www.wet.org.nz/about-the-lake/

Relevant Links:

Ministry of the Environment for Swimming Categories for E. coli: https://www.mfe.govt.nz/sites/default/files/media/Fresh%20water/report-on-e.coli-and-swimming-risk-may-2017.pdf
Te Waihora Lake Ellesmere Trust: http://www.wet.org.nz/
90% of rivers and lakes swimmable by 2040: https://www.mfe.govt.nz/publications/fresh-water/clean-water-90-of-rivers-and-lakes-swimmable-2040

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