Tasman students adopting Nurseries in Schools with native seed bank project
The Tasman District's technology education hub teaches students to care for their local environment through hands-on plant restoration and sustainability efforts.
Motueka Technology Education Centre (MoTEC) is a multifunctional, sustainable education centre that combines technology, sustainability, and environmental learning.
Year seven and eight students from schools across the region gather at the MoTEC campus, based at Parklands School, to learn from dedicated staff and volunteers.
Here, they deliver an innovative native nursery and seed bank project, where students can directly contribute to restorative planting projects by cultivating and supplying precious native plants.
The Centre works closely with local organisations and environmental community groups to provide students access to expertise and sustainable technology.
One of those organisations is Tasman Bay Guardians, which collaborates with MoTEC through the Nurseries in Schools programme alongside the Tasman District Council. Former MoTEC Team Leader (now Tasman Bay Guardians Manager) Jude Heath says that many other environmental groups have expressed an interest in the seed bank and its future possibilities.
"We're hoping to open students' eyes to what is out there, what technology is needed for our environment, and to make our work sustainable," says Jude. "What they develop here is not just in a classroom; it is part of what we need for a sustainable future.
"The nursery here is now a hub for Motueka that brings schools across the Tasman district together. It connects to our awa and to the moana for restoration projects."
In 2022, the nursery's first year, the students learnt about natural plant ecology and were on their way to having 4,500 plants ready to support local restoration. They sourced seeds, on-grew plants and took them out into the community. A year later, 500 students across 12 schools have propagated and grown over 6,000 native trees.
During Conservation Week, students are supported by New Zealand Landcare Trust, EnviroSchools, Tasman Bay Guardians and volunteers to plant seedlings into root trainers and discuss innovative ways to reduce waste. The trees are provided to local Moutere and Motueka landowners to assist with restoration projects on their whenua and improve waterways.
Tasman Bay Guardians, Tasman Environmental Trust and New Zealand Landcare Trust also support MoTEC with trees subsidies, enabling the community to purchase trees at a reduced price.
"It has been amazing to see the life-cycle of this project where some trees our students have propagated at MoTEC end up being purchased by their whānau. The student is then involved in planting the trees on their whānau land as part of a restoration project," Jude says.
Rātā Foundation Chief Executive Leighton Evans says the seed bank project is an innovative way to engage young people in sustainability efforts that bring about positive environmental change.
"We want future generations to be able to enjoy all the Tasman region has to offer, which is why the work MoTEC is doing to provide a hub for local students to nurture and sustain the environment around them is significant," says Leighton.
"Students should feel empowered to take action toward securing a more sustainable future for themselves, and the path to that is through quality environmental education that is not only relevant to today's challenges, but it has our hopes for a better future in mind."
MoTEC's new Team Leader, Kate Ericksen, says as well as developing their ideas for innovative projects, schools are encouraged to engage with other environmentally-friendly initiatives.
"At the moment, we have an inter-school competition running where kids are encouraged to collect as many Tetrapaks as possible, to support a New Zealand-based business that is upcycling these into low-carbon building materials," Kate says.
"We want kids to see the endless possibilities that exist to protect our natural environment and how technology can turn the most creative and innovative ideas into something that could change their world for the better."