SAVE THE DATE! The YOUNG OCEAN EXPLORERS 21 Day Challenge is coming 15 Feb 2021 - 15 Mar 2021

Restoring Our Oceans

A guided inquiry exploring life in and around waterways in Aotearoa (awa/ roto/ moana - rivers/lakes/ocean) - looking at our connections to the waterways in our local environment and their connection to the ocean. Tamariki will be introduced to many amazing creatures and see how they can be part of helping our oceans and local waterways to thrive now and into the future.

Planning done for you - This guided inquiry walks you through the process step by step - you can follow the plan or pick and choose the bits that suit you and your tamariki. This year there will be a student site so that those with devices can self-direct their learning if you work that way. There will be 3 differentiated learning paths so that students (or kaiako/teachers) can choose the level that suits them.

FREE! Yes really!- All we ask is to hear your feedback once you have tried this. Feedback from our pilot programme in 2020, and our first challenge in 2021 has been invaluable for us to help build on ideas and guide our planning for future challenges. It also helps us when applying for funding. We work hard to get funding so that ALL tamariki have the opportunity to learn and care about our beautiful natural world in Aotearoa. Many of our unique natives in NZ are actually in the ocean!

New content - Updated to tie in with waterways in your local rohe/area (awa/rivers, roto/lakes, moana / ocean) and looking at links to the ocean. It will start with exploring your tamariki's connection to your local environment - focusing on the waterways. We have great new video content from around Aotearoa.

Curriculum links - This inquiry has many links to the new Aotearoa New Zealand Histories curriculum and is a great place to start. There are strong links with the science and education for sustainability curriculums. This integrated plan can be used to tie in aspects of maths (statistics) and literacy, the arts, health. It links te ao Māori and introduces tikanga and kupu along the way.

Empowering students - We are looking forward to sharing this learning journey with you as you guide tamariki to think about what is important to them, and to empower them to make a difference for your local environment. Part of the challenge involves being kaitiaki of your area, starting with each child picking up one (or more) pieces of rubbish each day. Last year a collective group of over 1100 classes logged a total of more than 132,000 pieces of rubbish picked up - and not everyone entered their data. Let’s see if we can make even more impact this year! It is empowering for students to see that their small actions combined can make a big difference. The culminating project allows tamariki to share their ideas of kaitiakitanga with others.