Interactive

Love Rimurimu – planning pathways

This interactive groups Mountains to Sea Wellington’s Love Rimurimu and Hub resources into key science and teaching concepts. It provides a selection of pathways that allow for different approaches and starting points. The aim is to assist educators with their planning of lessons and units of work on seaweed biodiversity, human impacts and restoration. Click on the labels for links to supporting articles, media and student activities.

The article Love Rimurimu – an ocean of potential for seaweed provides an overview of the year-long inquiry.

Background image courtesy of Nicole Miller, Project Baseline.

Transcript

Love Rimurimu

Love Rimurimu – an ocean of potential is an education and restoration project co-ordinated by Mountains to Sea Wellington (MTSW). The project is supported by experts and technical advisors from the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA), Victoria University, Experiencing Marine Reserves, Te Aho Tū Roa and the Wellington Underwater Club. See the Love Rimurimu website.

The full education programme is a year-long inquiry that focuses on:

  • seaweed diversity and its importance in the marine environment

  • human impacts and climate change

  • seaweed solutions and marine restoration

  • taking action, sharing knowledge and reflection.

Educators can choose a shorter inquiry option and/or tailor the programme to meet student needs. In regions where the Experiencing Marine Reserves programme has co-ordinators, this can also be integrated with marine field trips and snorkels.

This interactive planner includes links to MTSW and Hub resources that will be beneficial in developing background knowledge and when planning for and taking action.

Image: Mountains to Sea Wellington

Food webs

Rimurimu is a primary producer and is the basis of many coastal and marine food webs. As a producer, rimurimu is able to convert energy from the Sun into food energy through photosynthesis.

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Image: The University of Waikato Te Whare Wānanga o Waikato

Te ao Māori

He hinonga tēnei e hono ana i te taiao moana ki te taiao tangata. E mahitahi ana a Te Aho Tū Roa me Mountains To Sea Wellington ki te kawe i tēnei kaupapa kia whai mana ngā tirohanga Māori, tirohanga ā-iwi, kia whiria hoki ngā mātauranga o te ao whānui. He taonga nui whakaharahara te rimurimu hei oranga taiao, hei oranga tangata. Tihei rimurimu!

Rauemi

Ataata

Photo by Te Kawa Robb.

Habitats

A habitat is the area where an organism or group of organisms live and breed. Kelp forests are biogenic habitats. Biogenic habitats can be compared to underwater forests with different species living together in thriving communities. You could think of biogenic organisms – in this case rimurimu – as the architects and construction workers who turn the seafloor into living cities.

Get to know your local rimurimu species with a visit to your coast or from home or school with identification guides and online resources.

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Rimurimu identification guides – Wellington region

Marine identification guides – whole of Aotearoa New Zealand

Photo by Nicole Miller

Human impacts

Human activities have major impacts on the sea and its inhabitants. Some of these impacts can happen directly – if there is an oil spill or physical damage from trawling or dredging. Other impacts can come indirectly from the way we interact with the environment or from the changing climate. Such threats do not exist in isolation – they accumulate and multiply, making it difficult for marine species to adapt quickly enough to cope.

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Image: Cawthron Institute

Developing a rimurimu restoration plan

The first step in protecting and restoring local marine ecosystems is knowing what seaweed species live in your local area and the roles they play in the marine environment. Students can use this data to inform subsequent restoration action.

These articles feature students’ efforts to monitor, plan for and create change in their local environments.

These resources are useful in helping students and educators plan for restoration.

Photo by Joe Warmington

Taking action and communicating

Taking action enables students to feel empowered and able to make a difference. Taking action is different to participating in activities, as action leads to a result/change/impact as well as learning.

It enables students to participate and contribute with science in an authentic context. It enables them to develop science capital – science knowledge, attitudes, skills and experiences. It also provides students with the opportunity to see themselves in science.

Combined with action is communication about the information students have gathered during the planning stage and while they are carrying out their action. Communicating information is an effective means to engage with their community and to potentially get others involved with ongoing or future action. It also provides cross-curricular opportunities in speaking, writing and presenting

The recorded professional learning session Taking action for conservation models a process of student inquiry in conservation, focusing on how to support students to put into action what they have learned through a process of inquiry.

These articles detail some of the actions taken by schools and kura who were part of MTSW’s Unlocking Curious Minds project. They contain examples of action and communication, which can inform and inspire.

Reflection and critical evaluation are a key part of action and inquiry. Encourage students to evaluate the effectiveness of their planning and action and whether it had the desired impact on the issue. Students can also self-evaluate their learning, individual efforts and/or change in attitude or perspective.

Photo by Jorge Jimenez

Acknowledgment

The Love Rimurimu project was funded in 2020 by Unlocking Curious Minds with support from the Henderson Trust, Wellington City Council and Experiencing Marine Reserves. The journey continues in 2021 with thanks to WWF and the Wellington Community Trust.

Rights: The University of Waikato Te Whare Wānanga o Waikato
Published:11 November 2021