Conservation: Seaweek, discover the treasures you never knew about

Hinehou Kingi-Te Koari, 7, with a fossil rock discovered during. Sea Week in 2017. Photo / File

CONSERVATION COMMENT

Most New Zealanders and tourists from elsewhere enjoy spending time in and around the sea over summer.

There is likely to be many more warm or mild days to enjoy a New Zealand beach before the weather turns cold.

Our local Whanganui beaches, with glittery black sand and sometimes blasting winds, can be a bit of a surprise to visitors from elsewhere.

Like all natural environments, it is vulnerable and can be damaged by our behaviour.

To draw public attention to the sea and the coast, a nation-wide celebration of the sea is held annually in the first week of March.

This year Kaupapa Moana - Seaweek began on Saturday, February 29 and runs until Sunday, March 8 with the theme of Connecting with Our Seas.

Giant southern crab.

During Seaweek this year Whanganui Regional Museum is partnering with other organisations including the Department of Conservation, Horizons Regional Council and the Sarjeant Gallery to provide coastal days of learning for schools.

These learning days give children the opportunity to be totally immersed in a coastal environment.

They learn about the biodiversity of the shore, discuss and investigate health of coastal and marine ecosystems, including coastal streams and they respond creatively through an art activity.

We all have an awesome day and hope to go home with a better understanding about how everything in our environment is interconnected.

To further contribute to the celebration of Seaweek 2020 museum staff have assembled Ngā Tamariki ā Tangaroa - The Children of Tangaroa, a display case of fascinating sea creatures from our collection.

Tangaroa is the Māori atua (god) of the ocean and all sea creatures are his children.

If you have never seen a giant crab, a puffer fish, or a fiddler ray, an argonaut or a kororā (little blue penguin), this is your chance to have a close-up look, although unfortunately they are preserved specimens, rather than live ones.

On Wednesday, March 4 from 3.30pm to 4.30pm your children can enjoy some stories and songs all about Tangaroa and his children with Lisa Reweti, our amazing in-house storyteller.

Join in the fun, then discover more sea-themed treasures using one of our Seaweek Explorers.

But wait, there's more! On Thursday, March 5 between 12.30pm and 1.30pm, Scotty Moore, from the freshwater team of Horizons Regional Council, will share his wealth of knowledge about coastal streams.

So bring your lunch to the Davis Theatre, Watt St, and find out all about the local streams that meander along the beach.

Margie Beautrais is the educator at Whanganui Regional Museum.

Next time you have the opportunity, take a trip out to the Whanganui coastline.

Wander along and explore the fascinating beach environment.

Remove a few pieces of washed-up rubbish, so it doesn't become a choking hazard for one of the precious marine creatures that inhabit the seas around New Zealand.

Celebrate the beauty and diversity that makes up our coast.

We are so lucky to have this amazing natural environment right on our doorstep. Let's look after it.