This year, we have welcomed almost 1,000 students to Matuku Link for our school education days. We have had the privilege of educating and connecting with not only these students, but also the teachers and whanau members. Our education days are always exciting, with student highlights including the tuna/eel feeding, water testing, and exploring the birds of the wetland. We love that students get to learn real-world, hands-on research skills and get to be scientists all day.
We prioritise local, low decile schools to support teachers to connect their akonga (students) with their local environment – some of them who haven’t visited a wetland or even a native bush session before. We can provide rain coats, some gumboots and assist with finding funding for their visit and their bus hire to remove the barriers for their visit. The combination lockdowns during Covid, many walkways in the Waitakere Ranges closed because of kauri dieback or slips and the devastating effects of floods emphasise the need to connect our tamariki to nature, to give them an enjoyable, interesting and educational experience!
We’re taking bookings for 2024 school trips now. If you know a school that would love to spend a day learning about our wonderful wetlands, send us a message.
All this has been made possible with funding from The Mazda Foundation, Te Hononga Akoranga COMET, Waitakere Local Board, Henderson-Massey Local Board, Auckland Council, Foundation North, TTCF and The Trusts. Thank you!
Leah Nielsen & Rebecca Bowater
Best photos by Jonathan Longstaff: Te Hononga Akoranga COMET , others taken by staff & volunteers
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