Learning about our awa with Wai Tuwhera o te Taiao

Back in April 2022, I learnt of a water sampling programme which was being undertaken by Wai Tuwhera o te Taio (Open Waters Aotearoa), part of the Environmental Authority. Their programme involves linking community groups and the science of Wilderlab, to sample and undertake testing of the water within our rivers, lakes, estuaries and wetlands. The aim of this programme is to enable local communities to understand their own waterways better, and use the knowledge gained to consider how we can contribute to improving the health and diversity of life within them over time.  The testing involves analysing, discovering and identifying the environmental DNA (eDNA) filtered from the sampled water, and informing us about what this information tells us about the health of our water.

In their words…Environmental DNA, or eDNA, refers to all the tiny traces of genetic material that is left behind as living things pass through water or soil.

In your backyard, local stream or boggy field lurks a secret web of co-conspirators. Largely unseen, they slink and swoosh, creep and crawl, helping each other to survive. Sometimes there are many, sometimes there are few. How do we know this? They leave their DNA behind.

From kērēru to kōwhai, and the leaves in the wind, all living things shed genetic information into their local environment. This is called environmental DNA, or eDNA.

For example, a bird flies over a lake and drops a feather. Under the surface, a fish swims around and, if it is unlucky, gets gobbled up by bigger fish. Likewise, an insect may fall into the lake, and leaves fall from trees. These plants and animals leave behind ‘genetic breadcrumbs’ (such as skin cells and faeces) in the environments they live in.

   “In one drop of water are found all the secrets of the ocean” Kahlil Gibran

Our Mairtown Kindergarten Nature Programme group have a special connection with the beautiful ngahere of Mair Park, where we spend our Friday mornings. One of our favourite spots to spend time is “The Beach”, at the rocky edge of the awa Hoteo as it passes the foot of Parihaka maunga. I felt that participating in this sampling programme would be a great way for us to learn more about our awa and the life which surrounds us there. Gaining knowledge helps us think about how we can support the environment which in turn sustains us.

Vegetation helps maintain the equilibrium of the atmosphere, taking up carbon and releasing oxygen, and pumping water from the earth to the sky. Soil is the thin mantle which overlays rocks, retaining water and nutrients. It supports vegetation and thus all other life that feeds on plants or animals. Fresh water, essential for terrestrial and aquatic life, is replenished and cleansed through the water cycle. These elements and their interactions make up the biosphere and keep us all alive.

We need to be careful our actions do not disrupt the balance of the atmosphere, oceans, water and land. While growing populations create pressure on the earth’s resources, it is really how we live our lives that makes the biggest difference to the planet. (Enviroschools).

So, I put in an application to participate in the autumn testing, but we missed out on that round. They encouraged us to reapply, though, so I tried again for the Spring Summer testing round of 2022/23. That time we were successful, so it was time to start getting prepared!

They sent us out a testing kit, and I watched webinars to learn about the process. I contacted Matua Winiwini Kingi, of Ngatai Kahu o Torongare, and he agreed to accompany us and bless the eDNA sample as it left our awa and headed off on its journey to the lab. We made plans to take our sample in early December.

At whānau time in November, I explained to the tamariki what we would be doing, and what we might learn. We talked about how the water in our awa travels from its beginnings, both from Kamo down the awa Waitawa, and Glenbervie along the awa Mangakino, then down the Hoteo/Hatea awa on its journey to the sea, collecting ‘memories’ of the life it interacts with on the way. 

They then shared their thoughts about what lifeforms they thought we would discover were living within, alongside and above our awa, and we wrote our own reference list to later compare the results from sample with.

Investigations enable children to extend and expand their learning and thinking, building confidence in learning how to learn. They also enable teachers to gift children some very important dispositions such as being researchers, by feeding their curiosity and taking their curiosity further. Investigative approaches enable children to achieve an impressive depth of learning, and to tackle complex concepts and questions. Hargraves, 29

And then….THE WEATHER!!!! Northland skies turned on the taps, and as high rainfall and fast flowing waters disrupt the quality of the sample, we had to postpone…and then it was the summer break. Then before we could reschedule in the new year, cyclone Gabrielle hit☹.  Parihaka maunga and her surrounds suffered damage which meant we needed to take a break. The Wai Tuwhera team agreed to extend our time limit, and we waited for a period of calm weather, and a time which suited Matua Winiwini, to align.

March 31^st was that day! We all gathered at our meeting place and made our introductions, discussed our ‘rules’ and said our karakia before setting off down the hill to the ngahere. After morning tea we headed to “the Beach”, and how the landscape has changed since the storms and the slips! The awa was shallower than before at this point – so many rocks had slipped down the maunga into the riverbed. This did give us interesting knowledge to discover though – Matua Winiwini found a small volcanic rock, maybe a remnant of the volcanic beginnings of Parihaka maunga, and he explained to the tamariki about how this special type of rock, the best at retaining heat, was traditionally used by his hapu for cooking their delicious Hangi.

I then unpacked the testing kit and talked through the equipment and the process with the tamariki. Then it was waders on and into the water for me, clambering over the slippery rocks and doing my best not to drop the important kit!

 I found a suitable spot and began the process of filling the 20ml syringe, attaching a special filter, then pushing the water back out into the awa, leaving its eDNA trapped within the filter. This process took some time, as a litre of water had to be filtered, and as the filter progressively filled with material, the task got harder and harder! Maxwell's Dad and Matua Winiwini helped me out, and the tamariki were very respectful throughout, of the need to not interact with the water upstream of the sample, so their play would not disrupt the sampled water with any introduced matter. They watched what was happening, and played on the water's edge downstream of the sampling, where they were free to interact with this special environment as they wished. Finally, the sampling was done, and I changed syringes, adding fixative to the filter to preserve its contacts ready for posting it to Wilderlab. Then we gathered together as Matua Winiwini shared some words to send our sample on its journey of knowledge building. Then the whole beach was ours to explore freely again, and it was time to spend the rest of the morning introducing Matua to our favourite activities in this beautiful spot – eeling, rock throwing, constructing with and and whittling the fallen branches😊The eels, water snails and small fish were keen to come and check out the bacon scraps and peas and corn on offer, so we were pretty sure their DNA would appear in our sample results too!

The fascinating and wonderful thing about free play in wild spaces are the resources that assist in the development of the children, they all are around them and are only limited by the child’s curiosity and wonder of the natural environments. Cummings, 2010

And then we waited a few weeks, and at last I had an email telling me our results were in – it was time to analyse them!! This information would inform us about the life forms which had interacted with the water we sampled, at some point during the last 4-5kms of its journey to 'The Beach', as well as at that point.

I spent some time on the Wilderlab site, learning about what the findings could tell us. I found our sample on the interactive map, and I also discovered that a larger set of samples had also been taken over a 24hr period during the Bioblitz event in October 2022, reasonably close by. This means we are contributing to a bigger picture of the health of our awa over time. I discovered that our tamariki had made many correct predictions, although no amnonytes or extinct stuff were found!

And the 20 largest eDNA results extracted were of...

although there were many others...an eleven-page sample report of 236 identified life forms including plants, insects, mammals, fish, birds, algae, bacteria, insects worms, molluscs and various single cell and microscopic organisms in fact!

This list contained a couple of surprises, like snapper, who couldn't live in the predominantly freshwater of our awa upstream from 'The Beach' - I think a fisherman has maybe thrown out his waste in the awa after filleting his catch?! And the goldfish and pond weed - maybe an aquarium has been emptied out in the awa, introducing pests into our awa?!

Wilderlab also provided an accompanying ‘Wheel of Life’ image which places all the lifeforms next to their nearest ‘relatives’, assigning each classification its own colour. 

And we found our tamariki had not done too badly at all with their predictions either!

Our awa was given a TICI score (The Taxon-Independent Community Index) which indicated the overall health of our awa is poor. This is lower than the average rating gained from the nearby Bioblitz sample last year, and that concerned me, so I did some more research!

This score reflects a change in the way living water quality is assessed, which eDNA testing has made possible. Whereas in the past water quality was determined by the measurement of the nutrient, metal, sediment and acidity levels of the water, now we can assess the presence of organisms which are sensitive to, or tolerant of, the presence of different stressors or environmental pressures, including nutrient levels, metal pollution, temperature or poor habitat. These life forms are called bioindicators, as their presence or absence indicates the condition of their environments. 

Research indicates that many of our awa in Aotearoa begin with abundant life and an excellent health rating near their source, and then as they move through increasingly populated, deforested and commercially used areas of land on their journey to the sea, the presence of sensitive species including insect life like mayflies, caddis flies and dragonflies drops, while the presence of species which can survive in and around poorer water environments, such as Mallard ducks, Pukeko and worms increase. 

Our environment is certainly mid to lower, and heavily influenced by our populated environment, as well as the impact of the storm events we have experienced, and maybe the cost of this is seen in our results?! Perhaps, to ensure our awa remains full of diverse and healthy life, there is work to be done!

The challenge now for our tamariki, is to consider what actions they can promote and enact in the future to enhance and protect the health and life of our awa for future generations.

Finding ways to create and live in a healthy and sustainable community is an ongoing learning experience, and schools and ECE centres are a microcosm of the larger environment. Students can learn about their world by exploring the diversity of their school/centre environment and the decisions and behaviours that change it. 

If we live within our limits, take only what we need and design our lives with care for other people and all of nature, we can leave things in a better state. Drawing on the gifts of our ancestors and the lessons of our history, we can create a more abundant, diverse, healthy and positive future. Enviroschools

Here are the links to our results and those of the Bioblitz for your interest!

https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/wilderlab.openwaters/reports/90dadc66eda71b86.html

https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/wilderlab.openwaters/reports/29380753129784c2.html

Mā to wā 

Anne