Today we had an AMAZING trip to Mount Lees near Feilding. As we are an Enviroschool we were lucky enough to be invited to take part in a regional Enviroschool hui to learn about Forgotten Fauna – native fish, bats and lizards. Attending with us were 9 other schools from around our region so it was great to mix and mingle with other children who have a similar interest in environmental studies.
In the morning we learnt about bats and how they use echo-location to find food etc. Then we went on to learn about lizards which by far was the most anticipated session for our children and it was VERY exciting when they were allowed to actually hold a lizard. Following on from the lizards it was on to learn about fish. We were astonished to find out that there are currently 35 named species of native fish in New Zealand. We also learnt that whitebait are the babies of several native fish, which are seriously endangered – certainly made me rethink my taste for whitebait fritters thats for sure!
After a delicious lunch of sausage sizzle we got to play a game while the teachers / adults learnt about the different enviro educators around the Manawatu. We finished the day with a taking action activity where we made lizard tracking tunnels and water scopes.
As per usual the children really out did themselves when it came to representing our school in a respectful way so on the way home they were treated to an ice block to finish off another fun day of learning.
Here are a few photos of our day……
pukeokahu.school.nz 