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

A Taste of Waipara (Friday, July 8th, 2011)

                        After a slight change in plans due to some untimely westerly weather in the Southern Alps we found ourselves on a drive south toward the Wiapara Valley region of New Zealand. En route, the group had an opportunity to visit a large housing development, known as Pegasus, where we had our first taste of what is involved with planning a green community. Equally as important we learned how critical communication is between the design and construction phase. After visiting the adjacent beach area (and stopping at Pukeko Junction for tea time) we were on our way south to vineyard country.

                        Although free wine tastings at Pegasus Winery and Mudhouse Vineyard were almost too good to be true, the real treat was viewing how open the local community was to incorporating native planting into their land. Integral to the area was the support of Deryl, a 5th generation Wiapara Valley native. He explained how small projects have  grown and progressively had a positive influence on the community. We had our second taste of New Zealand when Deryl offered to show us the skills of his sheep herding dogs. With one sight dog, one barker and with no more than a few coordination signals from Deryl the duo performed amazingly.

Riccarton Bush & Governor's Bay (July 6, 2011)

As Colin guided us through Riccarton Bush, we were constantly reminded that many native plants have a juvenile and an adult form.  You can look at a small shrub and turn around and see the same species as a tall tree.  Certain native birds are quite curious and will fly right up to you.  This study abroad course offers a hands-on approach to learning about the native and exotic species of New Zealand.

-Many of the roofs are wonky now.

Dr. H showed us the earthquake damage in downtown Christchurch before stopping for lunch in the Port Hills.

Governor’s Bay gave us a different perspective of the area in which we have been hiking over the past few days.  We rolled rocks over on the beach to discover crabs.  We walked through Lyttleton Harbor and saw more earthquake damage. 

-Max

Hi my name is Pam (Monday, July 4th, 2011)

Today was our first day of lectures. We started the day with breakfast then headed upstairs to the lecture hall which was freezing cold! Max taught us a new warm up where we repeated after him "Hi, my name is Pam, and I work in a bun factory..." It was very cute and it really warmed everyone up!

After our lunch we went over to the Landcare Research Building in Lincoln and heard a talk by Dr. Dean Anderson about Mammal Pests in New Zealand. It was interesting to hear about the strategies used in an attempt to control the mammal population (possums, rats, stoats etc) on the island. The commonly used chemical, 1080, is a very controversial issue in New Zealand and other options are still being researched.

We then had free time in the afternoon and some of us went jogging past the dairy farms, went to the gym, and walked in the downtown part of Lincoln. At night we met some Kiwis!

Cheers!
Jane

Tuesday July 5, 2011 - Colin the Wise, and One Incredible View

Today began, after breakfast of course, with our first formal lecture from Colin. His presentation was a good overview of many of New Zealand's physical characteristics, such as geography, topography, different types of land, and vegetation. The lecture was then followed by a break for tea, and a great hike on Banks Peninsula.

The group learned of many new plants and got some astonishing views. We got to stop to have lunch right outside on this "hill" (mountain to us Floridians), while the clouds literally passed right by us. Excellent day of education and adventure.

-Matt

Sunday, July 3, 2011 Low Ropes, Pies, Planting, and Kiwiana

Nothing like some low ropes team building exercises to warm up on a frosty morning.  After finally working our way out of a Gordian Knot and a Traffic Jam it was off to samples Hillyers gourmet meat pies before heading out to the Mahoe Reserve to take part in a community planting day. Sue Jarvis talked with us about Lincoln Envirotown Trust activities and Dr. Colin Meurk taught us about native New Zealand plants and how to plant them properly before we had a go at it.  We helped plant over 100 native plants during our afternoon at the reserve.  

At night we got a little flavor of “Kiwiana” by making fresh whipped cream for our Pavlova dessert, sampled some “World-Famous-In-New-Zealand” L&P lemon soda, Mark taught us some of the basics about rugby, and we watched an episode of Flight of the Concords.
-Meryl

They're Here!

Our students arrived safely and to a beautiful winter day here in the Canterbury Plains!  After a chilly start at 37 degrees F, we warmed up to a sunny 50 degrees F!  After brunch at Lincoln University, we visited the monthly Lincoln community market, then got checked into the dorms and have a short break.  Our goal was to have fun and keep everyone awake until just after dinner to help set the internal clocks to the right time.

The afternoon included Tip Top ice cream and a short hike in the Port Hills.  Got a good "over view" of Christchurch and Lyttlelton Harbor, and we got to see our first silver tussock and flax plants as well as some sheep. After dinner, an added small bonus of a sneak peek at the 48 Hour Design Challenge being held on campus here before getting a good nights sleep.
- m&m