Te Puna Umanga Venture Taranaki, the regional development agency, has announced funding for six new community-based projects facilitated by Curious Minds Taranaki. The initiative has distributed $1,459,977 to 82 projects, enabling locally relevant scientific research throughout Taranaki. 

Since 2015, Curious Minds Taranaki has been facilitating partnerships between community groups and science experts to carry out research that reflects the curiosity and concerns of Taranaki residents. Through the grants, funded by the Ministry for Business, Innovation, and Employment (MBIE), Curious Minds Taranaki has brought outside expertise into the region, enabling local expertise to flourish.  

Thom Adams, Curious Minds Programme Coordinator, explains the latest group of projects represents a diverse range of subjects, organisations, and regions that take a future-focused approach to scientific inquiry. The projects cut across the region and are driven by schools, Iwi and community organisations. As such, the projects are incredibly diverse and range from marine conservation/monitoring, native bush restoration, and even a soil science study involving compost and undies! 

“We’re proud of the spirit of curiosity that the projects funded by Curious Minds Taranaki have embodied. Thanks to the hard work of community leaders, experts, and volunteers, we know more about our region than ever before,” says, Thom Adams, Curious Minds Programme Coordinator. 

“Each new collaboration has sparked enduring relationships that have extended far beyond the original scope of the project and have ensured lasting change for the community. From restoring devastated kaimoana populations to fostering a love of physical activity, the impact of each of these Curious Minds Taranaki projects will ripple out to inspire new lines of inquiry.” 

From December 2024 Government funding will end for the Curious Minds Participatory Science Platform programme. Venture Taranaki would like to thank and congratulate everyone who has been involved in Curious Mind Taranaki since its inception in 2015. The relationships forged between experts, educators, and passionate community members will endure well beyond the scope of the original project to support lasting change throughout the region. 

The regional development agency is actively investigating alternative sources of support to ensure that the momentum and capability built by the participatory science platform continues.  

“STEM education is of vital importance to the future prosperity of Taranaki and fosters innovative thinking throughout the region. We will continue to focus on initiatives that raise awareness of science and technology career pathways. Our strengths lay in our energy, engineering, and food and fibre sectors, and we’ll continue to position Taranaki as an innovative leader within those industries,” concludes Stacey Hitchcock Venture Taranaki Deputy CE /GM Investment.  

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION 

Curious Minds Participatory Science Platform (PSP) 

The Curious Minds Participatory Science Platform (PSP) is a New Zealand Government initiative funded by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment and delivered locally by Te Puna Umanga Venture Taranaki. 

Visit our Curious Minds page or MBIE to find out more.

ABOUT THE PROJECTS

Run Revolution - Run For Your Life NZ 

Run For Your Life’s first Curious Minds Taranaki project, Run Revolution in 2021/22, demonstrated how a programme aimed at building an enjoyment of running could improve school students' relationship to exercise, and also that when a student witnesses their own fitness improvements through measurement they are more likely to have positive outcomes. Now they’re looking at the intersection of physical education and mathematics with the goal of creating a positive learning experience for both areas of the curriculum. 

Through a collaboration with teachers, they’re using Run Revolution as the basis of a new programme where students can become sports scientists. The students will use mathematics to track their fitness data, asking questions and drawing conclusions based on their findings. At the same time, Run For Your Life will be looking at changes in attitudes towards running, science and mathematics to see whether combining the two could present an exciting opportunity for educators. 

Primary contact: Hayden Shearman – [email protected] 
 

Tech Taiao – Ohu Taiao 

While surveying kaimoana as part of the Mai te Awa ki te Moana project, Ohu Taiao made the startling discovery that pāua had been almost completely eradicated from a large stretch of the South Taranaki coast. With little explanation as to the cause, Ohu Taiao are embarking on an ambitious project to develop a data science tool for hapū and community to use to monitor their environment and advocate for its protection.  

The project will use the two taonga species pāua and piharau (lamprey) as the basis of a monitoring framework developed alongside freshwater and marine scientists. The framework will be tested by hapū and community groups and used to develop an open-source analytics tool. By creating a centralised way to access and process the data collected by community-led science, Ohu Taiao hope to empower hapū and community to make a meaningful impact on future activities in the region.  

Primary contact: Alison Anitawaru Cole – [email protected] 

Mahi Ngahere – Rahotu School 

Like many schools, Rahotu School has a patch of native bush that has seen better days. They’re on a mission to restore it to its original state, working along experts to figure out the best way to grow seedlings from the ngahere while eradicating unwanted pests.  

Students will document their journey as they learn from gardeners, environmental scientists, and hapū. Their lessons will then be turned into a resource that can be shared with other schools, teaching Tamariki the principles of raising and planting native plants in coastal Taranaki.  

Primary contact: Beccy Muggeridge – [email protected] 

Te Hononga Taiao – Trails & Tots 

The benefits of nature-based experiences for adults and children have been extensively researched. However, little has been done to investigate the impacts on the wellbeing of new parents and what barriers there might be to accessing outdoor programs.  

Trails & Tots are a community organisation that provides opportunities for families to experience the outdoors through tramping and nature play. Their research will be informed by the experiences of currently participating members, with the goal of demonstrating how new parents might benefit from nature-based programs. By providing free chid carrier packs to loan, they’re hoping to connect with families who would not usually participate and identify ways to reduce the barriers to access.  

Primary contact: Jenn Julian – [email protected]
 

Soil Science – Opunake High School 

Food waste is a major problem for most schools wanting to reduce their environmental impact. While it’s often sent to landfill with other waste, a better option is to compost it. Opunake High School are taking on the challenge of building a fit-for-purpose organic waste collection system that can produce nutrient dense compost. This compost will then be used to support the agriculture and horticulture curriculum, focusing on soil health.   

This student-led research will look at the challenges of waste collection in a school environment. They’ll work with soil scientists, sustainability experts, and members of the community to learn more about soil biology and how to ensure effective composting can take place. This work will set the stage for a multi-year project to develop an agriculture academy within the school.  

Primary contact: Esther Ward-Campbell – [email protected] 
  

Kōura: Taonga, keystone and indicator of our awa ecosystem and mauri – Ngāti Mutunga 

Kōura (freshwater crayfish), a taonga species, were once found in large numbers throughout our awa (rivers). Their abundance and size are in decline in New Zealand due to environmental impacts including removal of native bush, drainage of wetlands, and introduced predators. As a keystone species, their presence is the signal of a healthy ecosystem, making their conservation all the more important.  

Ngāti Mutunga are embarking on what will be the only known Kōura monitoring project in Taranaki. They’ll be working with local schools, catchment communities, and freshwater experts to investigate the distribution of Kōura throughout the waterways of their rohe. The data collected by this study will be used to inform initiatives to sustain and grow kōura populations while restoring their freshwater systems.  

Primary contact: Annette Lamb – [email protected]