Otangerei School and the Whitebait Connection

For most Kiwis, the word whitebait is closely associated with ``fritter''. But a Northland environmental education programme is changing that association for many Northlanders, young and old.

The Whitebait Connection provides knowledge about freshwater ecology and the effects of land management on freshwater quality.

Programme director Stefan Seitzer said the name was chosen to get people's
interest. ``Ask any New Zealander about whitebait and most will put on a gourmet grin and start rubbing their stomach ... most people have a story about
whitebait so the name instantly grabs their attention,'' Mr Seitzer said.

Otangerei School is one of 22 Northland schools, and six community groups
involved in the programme. Student Rachel Newman, 9, said looking after the water quality of streams was important because it formed part of the food chain.
``We are trying to catch bugs to see if the water is fresh,'' she said. Looking after the environment was important so future generations could enjoy it. ``It is exciting, we don't want to go back to school,'' she said.

Mr Seitzer said streams were life supporters extraordinaire. ``The importance of the quality of our freshwater goes far beyond its suitability for household or stock drinking water,'' Mr Seitzer said. The programme explained the food chain in a way that people could understand.

Fish who ate the mayfly water bug spawned the whitebait catch who then became part of the coastal food chain. ``In a nutshell the formula is simple, health streams = good water bug population = food for freshwater fish = food for coastal fish.

``As humans we harvest most of those links,'' Mr Seitzer said. The programme had helped more than 1000 Northlanders to understand what makes their streams tick. Some had been inspired to take action to restore and revive local
waterways.

The programme was under the umbrella of the Nga Maunga ki te Moana (from
the mountains to the sea) Conservation Trust and was supported by the
Department of Conservation and the Royal Society's National Waterways
Project.

At a recent national forum in Rotorua three other regions, Nelson/Marlborough, Bay of Plenty and the West Coast of the South Island expressed an interest in joining the programme.

Both article and photo reproduced by kind permission of the Northern Advocate newspaper.