By Ying YangA big congratulations to these recently funded 2021 projects: Panama Road School, Mountains to the Sea Conservation Trust, Mangere East Family Services Centre, and Otahuhu College.
Projects that were extended from 2020 are also progressing well.
Projects funded from Intakes 1 & 2 - 2021
Panama Road School, Tipu Whare. Is there evidence of water pollution and unsustainable disposal of community rubbish in the Tamaki River region of South-Otahuhu?
Students at Tipu Whare will research water pollution in their local awa and develop a community-based app for recording pollution. They hope to collect and analyse data to create science-based solutions for improving water quality and reducing litter.
Mountains to the Sea Conservation Trust. What is the current health status of our local waterways?
Scientists at Whitebait Connection will work with students from 6 south Auckland schools to discover the biodiversity in our local waterways. Using water quality testing and sampling techniques, schools will do a comparative study of the health of the Puhinui Stream at the Auckland Botanic Gardens (a good condition stream) and compare this with their own local waterways.
Mangere East Family Services Centre. How does urban bush restoration efforts impact on biodiversity?
A community of schools, church groups, and the Tararata Stream Team will measure the impact of restoration efforts on local biodiversity and water quality. They will compare and contrast biodiversity indicators in areas of native bush and mown lawn, to see how we can improve stream health through regeneration.
Otahuhu College. Is it possible to grow a bountiful, edible and nutritious crop of Japanese taro and plantain in South Auckland?
Students and enthusiastic gardeners will create a school garden to test different methods for cultivating taro and plantain. They hope to grow bountiful vegetables that can be used to supplement the community’s diet with a nutritious and affordable backyard crop.
2020 ongoing projects
· University of Auckland Monitoring microbes – what can DNA analysis tell us about the organisms in our awa?
· East Tamaki Primary School War of the mites – what is the best way to attract guava moths?
· AUT and Manurewa High School How much affordable housing will be required in Manurewa, South Auckland, by 2030?
· The Gardens School How can we water our Community Garden located at The Gardens School, Manurewa, using the most cost effective and environmentally sustainable method?
· Tread Lightly Is our school community contributing to stormwater pollution in our local catchments?
· Manurewa Central School What is healthy food and how can we package it sustainably?
· Accelerating Aotearoa Wai we o Tara Care – how often does the Otara wastewater overflow into our awa? What is that impact and what can we do to address it?
· Puna o le Atamai ECE – Where does our electricity come from?
· Le Malelega a le Toélau ECE - Can we design a system that our under 5 year olds can understand to sort our rubbish?
Do you have a cool STEM project idea, but need funding to get it going? We’d love to hear from you!
You can call Ying Yang on (09) 3072101 or email STEM@cometauckland.org.nz
