Our Awa – The Owhiro Stream
On a far away hill called Matamata a small awa begins to flow.
It winds its way down the slope, under the roads, past the houses and schools until it meets the Taieri river. Along the way it passes through East Taieri kura where the students have been learning about this part of the awa called Quarry Creek.
Beau thinks that not all schools have a creek. The creek helps him feel calm. He can watch it and see the changes in the movements. Sophie knows that it is a place where eels live. She feels happy because it’s a place where the eels have a home. Isobel thought the slimy eels were amazing. She didn’t expect to see any in the awa. The eels made Mackenzie feel happy especially when they were squirming around. Nixon thought the eels liked the oxygen bubbles. “It is amazing that they can swim to Tonga to lay their eggs,” said Sylvie. She thought it was fun looking at the eels and seeing what they can do.
Craig and Nicole have been helping the students to get to know their awa. Albie has learned about the catchment and where the drains go. He liked learning about where the creeks met the Taieri River. Ella and Hamish used the tubes to check the water clarity. Heath looked through the tubes to see how clear the water was. Eva knows this is a way of making sure the water was clean. Patrick says that we need the water clean so the eels can see their food and other creatures. Beau understands that the temperature of the creek was about 10 degrees which is good because it is not too hot or too cold.
Nicole showed the children how to grow plants for planting by the awa. Leif and Willow know that planting plants help the creek to be cleaner and they give shade to the animals. The plants also help to keep the eels cooler says Heath and Eva. Isobel knows that the awa needs plants for oxygen, shade to fold over, to stabilise creek banks, to filter pollutants, to hold the eggs of the whitebait so they are shelter for creatures. Harry is sure the plants help the life in the creek, add water health and provide food for the animals. Albie knows that the plants can help stabilise the creek banks.
Craig used kick nets to see what is living in the awa. Heath and the other students sorted the creatures they found into little pods. Tatum thinks there are some great things in the creek. Hunter really liked learning about all the creatures.
Ollie came along to make a mural about this special awa. All of the students gave Ollie lots of ideas for the mural. Ollie made up three mural ideas and all of the students helped to pick the best one. This is the mural that Ollie created.
One day in the future our awa will be healthy and clean. We don’t have whitebait yet but one day we hope to have some. It’s like going to the shop but it’s out of stock at the moment. There will be more fish and eels. There will be more plants and more people taking care of it. The awa will get deeper and wider over time so more critters can live in it like mayflies.
Some of us feel happy when we look outside, and the sun is shining through the leaves into the awa. We are glad that we are taking care of the awa.
