Virtual field trip teaches kids about Pohutukawa

Thousands of primary, intermediate and secondary school students from around the country participated in a virtual field-trip to Whangarei to learn about NZ’s native Christmas tree, the pohutukawa.

The three-day field trip run by LEARNZ in conjunction with Project Crimson, began on 17 November, and taught students about biodiversity, coastal ecosystems and habitats, land use, resource management and plant biology, wrapped up in a fun and interactive programme. 

Project Crimson is a charitable conservation trust, which aims to protect and renew NZ’s native crimson flowering trees – the rata and pohutukawa. This virtual field-trip revealed how pohutukawa and rata are in danger of disappearing from our natural environment. 

Students were able to visit Kai Iwi lakes with ‘The Bugman’, Ruud Kleinpaste, who explained how all things in the environment are interconnected. They met with other experts who have helped restore pohutukawa in the environment in Whangarei. 

Students also got to explore areas where pohutukawa have been planted and discovered the significance of this sacred tree to Maori. 

“Pohutukawa has become a very popular NZ symbol of summer and Christmas,” says Bridget Abernethy, Executive Director of Project Crimson. 

“20 years ago they were threatened in NZ – but we have made a conscious decision to protect them on our coastline and embrace them as part of our ecology, but also our culture and heritage.”

LEARNZ is an interactive education programme, which is offered free to NZ teachers. It uses online tools, such as live audio conferencing, web diaries, photos and videos to take students to places they would never usually get the chance to visit, without the expense and time of a physical field trip. For more information about LEARNZ field trips, please visit www.learnz.org.nz.