Northland's environmental champions recognised at awards ceremony

Co-director of Mountains to Sea Conservation Trust Samara Nicholas. Photo / Supplied

Experiencing Marine Reserves – Mountains to Sea Conservation Trust has been named Te Tohu Matua Supreme Award winner of Northland Regional Council's annual Whakamānawa ā Taiao - Environmental Awards.

"It was an amazing acknowledgment of the two decades of work we've been doing in this area. It's really nice to see people placing an importance on this mahi," said co-director of Mountains to Sea Conservation Trust Samara Nicholas.

This year's awards, held in Kerikeri on Thursday night, comprised eight categories: community, pest management, education, water quality improvement, industry, leadership, kaitiakitanga and a new category, environmental action in climate change.

Experiencing Marine Reserves – Mountains to Sea Conservation Trust, which also won the award for environmental action in the community, was established in 2001 after Nicholas' participation in a Whangārei Harbour Marine Reserve project through her high school. Nicholas says she soon developed a passion for marine conservation and wanted to continue working in the field.

"Often the forest is mentioned and freshwater is mentioned but sometimes the marine environment does get a little bit left out, so it's really cool to be able to highlight the importance of the marine environment," said Nicholas.

Experiencing Marine Reserves is a programme that provides school students and community members with an opportunity to connect with their local marine habitat through snorkelling. The Northland programme stretches from

Tapotupotu in the Far North to Goat Island in the south.

More than 60,000 people have been snorkelling through the programme so far. Nicholas said the focus is on letting students form an emotional connection with marine habitats and allowing future generations to see what healthy marine ecosystems look like.

"Experiencing Marine Reserves, or Te Kura Moana, is a programme that empowers schools and communities by providing a hands-on experience in the ocean. We promote kaitiakitanga and look at local marine biodiversity and compare that to marine protected areas, after which the kids feel empowered to take action and address local marine issues," Nicholas said.

Collaborating with mana whenua is also integral to the programme's vision. Māori cadetships have provided opportunities for rangatahi. Hapū have a strong voice in marine biodiversity programmes and public snorkelling days. The programme has even expanded to seven other regions in New Zealand and to one state in Australia.

Other winners on the night included:

• Environmental action in the community and Te Tohu Matua-Supreme Award; Experiencing Marine Reserves – Mountains to Sea Conservation Trust.

• Environmental action in pest management; Pest Free Peninsulas Kaipara

• Environmental action in education; Oruaiti School

• Environmental action in water quality improvement; Ngaitakoto Taiao team

• Leadership; Tiaki Nga Wai o Hokianga / Hokianga Harbour Care Incorporated Society

• Kaitiakitanga; Tohe Ashby; Kauri Dieback Project

• Environmental action on climate change; Carbon Neutral NZ Trust - Kerikeri Branch

• Industry; NZ Sustainable Farming Limited.