This past week, a group of our youth came together to participate in the Mata Natura Youth Programme.

The passionate group of 17 students learnt about what species are living around us, the different ecosystems of Rarotonga, how to monitor plants and animals, and most importantly how we can protect our special ecosystems and species.

The holiday programme was led by conservationists from Muri Environment Care, Te Ipukarea Society, and the Archipelago Research Centre from Hawaii.

This collaboration gave the youth the chance to learn about a wide range of topics and areas including forest species in the Takitumu Conservation Area (TCA), freshwater animals and healthy streams, rare and interesting native plants, and atoll ecosystems.

The young budding conservationists ventured into the TCA where they practiced their skills using binoculars to spot the kākerōri and ī’oi birds in the forest. Many kākerōri were spotted and patience and keen eyes paid off when one of the students spotted a group of three ī’oi high up in a tree – a challenging species to spot!

The group learned more about various birds’ nests by building their own replicas. It was neat to see two mōa kirikiri (fruit bat) flying in the day and the endemic moko maunga (dandy skink) spotted basking in the sun.

Attention was then turned to the healthy stream that flows through the TCA. Surveying the stream was an opportunity to get hands-on skills testing the water and sampling the natural biodiversity. Catching koura was a highlight for some of the kids!

Over on motu Oneroa, Andre from Archipelago Research Centre played a seabird search game to highlight a ‘fallout’ scenario where seabirds get attracted to lights, fall from the sky, and scuttle to hide wherever they can since they can’t easily take off again. Their hiding spots make them hard for us to see, putting them at risk from cats, dogs, and rats. This activity gave everyone practice finding these vulnerable birds in case this happens around Rarotonga. Another search game led by Brennan from Muri Environment Care (MEC) involved hunting for the extremely rare native caper on motu Koromiri. In Rarotonga this plant is only found on Koromiri and was recently spotted at Avana point. The students practiced their GPS and science skills by surveying the plants and taking measurements that will be used in ongoing monitoring – how cool!

The MEC plant nursery was another exciting stop on the programme where the group learnt about the native and food plants growing there. The youth loved getting their hands dirty repotting plants, preparing and planting the Ngangie Pemphis seeds they collected from Oneroa, and getting creative painting botanical artwork for a top-secret signboard!

It was exciting to see young budding, naturalists, ecologists, and GIS specialists amongst the youth group. The top students over the three days included Sonny Mauheni, Charles Trevor Woonton, Tehahawai Passfield, and Kimiravenga Trego. A big thank you to the sponsors Koka Lagoon Cruises, Haura Cook Islands Fishing, Relaxing Fishing Charters, and TVK Water Sports for water taxing the team to the motu and to our major programme sponsor, the US Embassy New Zealand.