Home3 October 2022
Play Video | Outreach: Identifying kauri using paper, molecules, and computers
Te manu e kai ana i te miro, nōna te ngahere;
te manu e kai ana i te mātauranga nōna te ao.
Bioprotection Aotearoa is committed to establishing opportunities that further promote science education and experiences for communities and their learners.
With aligned aspirations, Tiakina Kauri approached Bioprotection Aotearoa to help design and deliver an outreach programme to a group of visiting students from Ngāpuhi.
Lauren Waller, a Science Lead for Tiakina Kauri, has been working with communities in Northland, to protect kauri from the Phytophthora agathidicida (PA), which causes disease in kauri.
As a treaty partner, communication and co-design are key elements at every step of the relationship. So when Tania Pene, from Te Rūnanga-Ā-Iwi O Ngāpuhi asked Lauren how to get the community involved with the scientific research that is taking place, Lauren saw an opportunity to get rangatahi involved.
Lauren picked up the phone and gave Professor Amanda Black a call, the director of Bioprotection Aotearoa. Together they assembled a team to begin planning an outreach programme hosted at Lincoln University.
The programme centred around the theme “Identifying kauri using paper, molecules, and computers”. It’s purpose was to take students through a journey that introduces scientific tools across various scales, that are used in the kauri protection space.
“Working with students is a good way to start, because they are the future,” says Lauren. “They can come down to Lincoln, be a part of this work, understand the context, and why we are doing it.”
Students were blown away by the university environment. For many, this was their first time in the South Island, and the first time on a plane. The experience sparked rich conversations around their own learning aspirations after they completed highschool.
