Thursday, August 4th - The Journey Home and Beyond

Our Iwi

Kia Ora.  Having been immersed in Kiwi and Maori culture for the past five weeks will make the journey back to American culture another adventure.  Our students will take with them lasting memories of the challenges and opportunities of what not only New Zealand faces, but what the rest of the world faces as well.  Preserving biological diversity, conserving resources, and maintaining a balance between natural and human built environments are key to a sustainable future.  And, it will take all of us with our diverse backgrounds to come together in many different ways to help make lasting change for a bright future.

Dear students, we hope that what you have experienced with us in New Zealand will help shape the decisions you make for our future in exciting and positive ways.  We thank you for giving of yourselves openly with your hearts and minds so that our time together could be such a special learning opportunity for us all.  We have really enjoyed being with all of you, touring the wop-wops, and sharing a daily cuppa. Sweet As!

From the land of the long white cloud, safe and happy travels!  See you in the land of the flowers (La Florida).  With a Hongi and hug to each of you, m&m

Monday, August 1 - Hanging out with the Kiwis (finally!)

X-ray of Kiwi with egg inside.

Monday afternoon we experienced Willowbank Reserve.  Willowbank cares for New Zealand wildlife that occurs both naturally in the country as well as species that are part of the country's history (i.e., species that were introduced by colonists over time).  Some of these species are domestic such as chickens and horses, others have become pest species such as wallabies and possums.  The park seeks to educate residents and visitors as to the heritage and challenges New Zealand's animal species bring to the table.  Our tour also included native New Zealand species where we saw our first Tuatara, Kiwi, Takahe, and Morepork. 

Tuatara

Takahe

 (Here is what Henry, a 111-year old Tuatara that lives in Invercargill, looks like:)

We also got to size up the extinct animals of New Zealand that roamed this wondrous place not too long ago.

Katie and Emily with an "actual size" Moa sillhouette.  These were hunted to extinction in relatively recent history.

An additional tour was to experience Ko Tane - a Maori cultural performance.  Matt got to be our chief and made sure to let the Maori Village know that we came in peace by accepting their offering and performing a proper Hongi.

We all had a wonderful time, and our gals got to give Poi a go and 

our guys got to give the haka a go as part of the show.  

Experiencing the strong and beautiful singing voices of the women and men, watching them twirl poi and throw sticks, and seeing a true Haka were, again, amazing experiences.  

Following our tours we had dinner at a new restaurant in Lincoln, No. 6, and had a chance to thank Colin, Tupelo, Jamm and Meryl for their assistance with the course, and of course, the students for their enthusiasm and sense of adventure for making the course a success!

Colin, our honorary Gator! 

Monday, August 1 - Day trip to Kaikoura

It is a pity that our trip to the Marae in Kaikoura had to be cancelled because of the flights being cancelled out of Queenstown last weekend.  Despite this schedule change, a day trip to Kaikoura, located on the Pacific coast three and a half hours north of Christchurch, was on tap for today. One word that could be used for what we did get to see today? Magical...


We stopped in Chevoit for tea and then went on to search for honey dew honey in the beech forests along the roadside.  


After, we visited the Ohua seal colony.  Then a surprise for the students --  a short hike just 10 minutes inland to a waterfall we know is used as a safe place for the baby seals this time of year.  Needless to  say we are all captivated by their antics.  The New Zealand Fur Seals are a protected species.

The afternoon was spent sampling whitebait and on a hike on the spit near the bay.  There we learned of the Hutton's shearwater project where a predator-free colony is being established to help ensure survival of this bird species that has only two breeding locations left in all of New Zealand.

We had dinner out in Kaikoura and then headed back to Lincoln.  On the way back we stopped at the forest again to look at the stars and we were lucky, we actually heard a Morepork.


Cheers, Mark

Harry Potter and Sustainable Design

Kia ora koutou!

Today we had a few lectures and a mini field trip to the Liffy in Lincoln, followed by Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows, Part II.

Dr. Hostetler lectured about designing and constructing sustainable developments. The design aspect is comprised of three phases: design, construction, and post-construction. It is important to note that during all 3 phases one must keep design and management practices in mind in order to reach a successful completion. The most successful technique of design is the low impact urban design and development plan, or LIUDD. This plan incorporates many aspects into the design of a sustainable urban area, such as:

• focus development on previously disturbed sites
• providing habitat for wildlife
• use established ecological principles
• preserve high quality natural areas
• create a network of open space
• create green transportation
• consider nearby habitat and people
• conserve wetlands and wetland buffers
• enhance Maori values

Constructing with these aspects in mind helps to reach the goal of improving the biodiversity on the building site and create minimal impacts on nearby habitat.  To see examples of the different methods of implementation of design and construction, we took a small class trip to the Liffy, a neighborhood just east of the Uni.

Use of a buffer of native vegetation between wildlife areas and wetlands from residential housing

Native vegetation planting

By far, Max's expression in the back is the best. He is really excited about visiting the Liffy

Use of retention/detention ponds as a wildlife area

Robert Watts, a water conservation manager from the Landcare Research Center also gave a lecture about different water management successes and failures in the Christchurch area.  Many of the successes were due to legislation passed in New Zealand that resemble the Comprehensive Growth Management Act and Area Planning policies in the United States.  Overall, it was a very informative presentation.

In the evening, Dr. Hostetler took us out for a movie night to see Harry Potter and Deathly Hallows Part II in Christchurch.  I swear I only choked on popcorn, and not the touching scene in the middle of the movie! We thoroughly enjoyed our night, and are excited for the lectures in the morning, although we got back way past our usual bedtime.

Whakamaoritia!

Alexis

Sheep Stop Van Mid Trip (Tuesday, July 12)

After cleaning up the Hinewai Lodge we bid healthy wishes (E noho rā)

) to Hugh and set out for our trip back along the scenic Summit Road of the Banks Peninsula.  

We stopped in Okains Bay to visit the Colonial & Maori Museum and the beach, and sheep in the road moving to a new paddock stopped us.  

We saw how the weather could change in an instant and then back as we drove through a brief lightning and hail storm only to drive on a few minutes later to a breathtaking view of Akaroa Bay.  

After afternoon teatime in Little River, we stopped at Birdlings Flat to explore this rocky beach before heading back to Lincoln.

Kia Ora, Meryl

July 7, 2011

Today we met with Craig Pauling who is Maori and works with water issues in Canterbury. He began our morning introducing himself in Maori to give us a taste of Maori tradition. Through his enthusiasm and friendliness, Craig portrayed how important conserving the environment is to all Maoris. As we walked to the edge of land and met the vast lake, he made it clear to me that  we do not live on Earth, but with Earth. Overall, Craig taught us that he wants to protect this world because it has descended from all of his ancestors and it is essential that we conserve our planet in order for life to be whole.

After the meeting with Craig, we traveled to the Travis Wetlands and met up with Colin Meurk. We practiced recognizing native plants as we walked on the three mile path. Also, we did our first bird count. We looked at different species and wrote how many we saw of each. It was interesting to see how many types of birds there actually are in such a small piece of land. From listening to Craig Pauling speak in Maori to performing our first bird count, today was filled with new experiences!

Cheers!

 Ally

Poi-E, A Kiwi Classic

In New Zealand, the Maori culture is deeply integrated within the Kiwi culture.  Throughout New Zealand, you will find both English and Maori signs, and even the government run television here has a dedicated station just for Maori programming.  While there have been struggles between the Pakeha (non-Maori) and Maori (just as in the United States between whites and both Native Americans and African Americans), and the Maori struggle to help their youth retain their culture, the Kiwis seem to have done a decent job of trying to be inclusive and promote the Maori culture throughout the country.

Poi-E is a classic Kiwi song that became a hit in the early 1980s. What is significant about this song, is that it is viewed as part of what helped kick start renewed interest for the Maori youth in their roots.


Poi balls were originally used by men and women alike to strengthen wrist muscles for battle.  Today they are used by girls and women in traditional Maori performance dances.
-Meryl