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Kids soak up clean water message

Enviro Schools Facilitator, Esther Dijkstra ran The Wetlands Project, a day of activity for primary school children, at the Events Centre on July 8. In morning workshops the children experimented with the effects of pollution on streams and stream life. They played games identifying plants and birds and competed in teams to make a kite from natural materials in thirty minutes. In the afternoon they visited a wetland area to plant trees. “Unfortunately for us the rain dumped water on us,” Esther said. “We managed to plant one tree.” Esther, a self-employed soil scientist, has worked with schools in the Wairarapa for the past eight years to help children understand more about water quality and what people can do to help clean it up. As well she works with the Carterton District Council monitoring the progress of land currently irrigated with treated waste water. She’s also involved with the Ruamahanga Whaitua community group set up to negotiate with communities on the future management of land and water in the Ruamahanga catchment. These decisions feed into the Wellington Regional Council’s natural resources plan. Esther’s university education in her homeland, the Netherlands, and that country’s experience of pollution prepared her well for her work in New Zealand. “A lot of issues we had in the 80s and 90s in the Netherlands are surfacing in New Zealand now.” Rivers full of dumped chemical waste flow from other countries into the Netherlands, she said. “New Zealand is wiser in that respect and problems are more easily controllable.” “I enjoy working with children. They are very receptive. They soak it all up. We want to empower them. We work with them to come up with an idea and then work with the idea and turn it into action. Jan Farr

The rain maker. Ollie makes rain in the model of the mountains to the sea, as pupils see soil washed out to sea, destroying fish food sources. Photo Don Farr.