March Monitoring Month and Koura Kraze 2010 

We will not be running March Monitoring Month and Koura Kraze in 2010.

However schools are encouraged to use the existing resources created to support their waterways investigations.

In addition equipment is still available for loan. Email rebecca.goffin@royalsociety.org.nz

Koura Kraze Click Here

Our Koura Kraze asked you to report on the presence or absence of koura in your local waterway.

Schools were encouraged to submit this data onto an online form click here. The information then became part of a nationwide distribution map of koura distribution around the country To view the 2009 map click here.

Koura (freshwater crayfish) are endemic to New Zealand and are a species under threat. They can be used to indicate the relative health of the waterway you sampled from. This map can thus indicate the relative health of the waterways around New Zealand.

How do you run this activity?

As part of a stream investigation/class study/school camp activity

Carry out a waterways investigation (e.g. at a stream/lake or other water body) to see if you can find koura in your local environment.

For a list of equipment you will need and possible resources you can access click here.

How about running March Monitoring Month and Koura Kraze as an adventure day? With your students run a range of short, sharp hands-on activities (approximately 1 hour each) which build your students knowledge of koura until you are ready to run a koura adventure search experience.

Adventure Day Curriculum Planner click here

As part of a class unit e.g. Healthy Water investigation

We have created curriculum units complete with a range of different learning experiences you can run with your students to help you learn about koura.

Level 4-Inquiry Science Investigation based on a range of interactive activities to answer the inquiry science question 'What habitat needs do koura have' click here to access the document planner.

Other activities to support you getting involved can be found below.

  • Starters – ones that are useful as introductory activities and for  developing skills
  • Follow – ups – where data is processed and interpreted and informed decisions may be made.
  • Download the March Montioring Month / Koura Kraze flyer to put up around your school.

Thanks to Rena Heap for her contributions to the original Koura Kraze resource material and Andrew Jenks (Wild About New Zealand) for initial assistance with the development of this material. Please use the list as a kete of activities to dip into and use as it suits you; we hope you will be encouraged to explore further possibilities for yourself through links to URL’s.

We still have class sets of NWP Pollution Detectives stickers available - if you would like some for your class please email  emap@rsnz.org

Case Studies of Koura Kraze Involvement

To see entries from 2008 click here

Pyes Pa School click here

Cheltenham School click here

2009 Involvement Examples

Check out Tauranga Boys College's neat blog. They are using Koura Kraze as the basis of their inquiry learning investigation into 'should we be concerned about the health of our streams?' using their local stream as their case study click here for more information

Katikati College have produced a great video of their monitoring activity on World Water Day March 22nd. See their video here.

Visit Riverview School's Room 15 blog on koura catching here

Read Kamo Primary School's koura poem's on the second page of their newsletter see here

If you have any questions email the EMAP National Coordinator rebecca.goffin@royalsociety.org.nz. Contact details are provided on the Contact page