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The Briefing | Issue No. 5 - Bay Science

  • 3 days ago
  • 10 min read

Rātapu 8 o Poutū-te-rangi 2026


Conservation monitoring device on a tree with volunteers working in native forest, highlighting environmental science resources in the Bay Science Newsletter.
Bay Conservation Alliance has launched their new Tauira Mahi training platform.

Kia ora koutou


Our first cluster of 2026 will take place in the second-to-last week of the term. This one is taking a while to finalise as we're aiming to secure the time which will be needed to go through the curriculum document in detail. We're also creating an independent online session for those who might not be able to make it.


We hope to send you more details in the next few days.

Ngā manaakitanga,

Bay Science



      GENERAL NEWS

  • HALO Whakatāne are looking for volunteers to join their Wicked Weeders group to help maintain Trees 4 Survival sites. Starts on Tuesdays in March; training provided. Flyer and more info here.

  • Bay Conservation Alliance has just launched their new Tauira Mahi training platform. These have been developed to support the ongoing learning and successes of people who are passionate and committed to protecting Aotearoa’s taonga species and critical ecosystems. Some of the in-person training units will be piloted from late March through April, with online training units available from July 2026.

  • The Climate Club Substack is a newsletter for anyone who wants to grow their capacity to do something about climate change.

  • Molly the Moa is currently at Murapara Library! (Facebook)

  • 'AnyQuestions' allows students to talk to a librarian from around New Zealand; useful for research.

  • To celebrate Whio Awareness Month, Kiwi Conservation Club is giving away two cute and cuddly whio plushies. There is one plushie for new members and one for renewing members (Facebook)

  • Free soil testing is currently available for heavy metals (Soilsafe Aotearoa)

  • Submit your video footage of Aotearoa native species in the wild and be in to win a Predator Free NZ and Nikon prize bundle (Predator Free NZ). Sustainable Backyards BoP is also running a photo competition (Sustainable Backyards Facebook)

  • Reminders:

      EVENT FORECAST

Our full calendar is available here. More than half of our readers are from beyond the Bay of Plenty. Let us know how we can help promote your event.

Mar 11-12

  • Ahumahi Mai – Give it a Go! Aquaculture! (Ōhope)


Mar 12


Mar 13

Mar 14

Mar 15


Mar 16


Mar 17


Mar 18


Mar 19


Mar 20


Mar 21


Mar 22


CONFERENCE WATCHLIST


2026 NZ Bird Conference (May 30 - Jun 1)


Science Communicators of Aotearoa NZ Conference (Jun 24-26)

ASERA 2026 (Australasian Science Education Research Association) takes place in Brisbane (30 June - 3 July).


UpliftEd by Aotearoa Educators Collective (July 8-9)


NZ Plant Conservation Network conference (Oct 12-15)


New Zealand Association of Environmental Education Conference (Sept-Oct holidays; planning in progress).


Chem-Ed Biolive by SCENZ and BEANZ (Nov 18-20)



      RESOURCES & EXPERIENCES

The following have been added to our Experiences page and Resources directory. Our Resources directory only saves items which are free and which do not require a login.


  • Manawahe Eco Trust has a range of place-based environmental education programmes for Years 1-13, aligned with the New Zealand Curriculum. Options include single day visits, multi-day camps, and lots of hands-on conservation mahi!

  • Auckland Council’s Learning Through Experience programmes help schools take learning beyond the classroom. There are almost 60 STEAM programmes across all year levels to sign up to. These programmes are also listed as part of the Auckland Climate Action initiative.

  • Explore Your Coast delivers a hands-on marine education programme that connects students with Wellington’s coastal marine life through film, discussion, and interactive learning experiences.

  • NCEAce has free NCEA practice questions across Calculus, Statistics, Physics, Chemistry, and more — all official NZQA exam questions from 2013–2025 with step-by-step solutions.

  • The Global Plastics Hub website has interactive maps under the "Data Hub" which reveal how plastics are traded and managed worldwide. You can also search for specific countries.

  • Bioeconomy Science Institute's Biodiversity for Beneficial Insects page has lots of downloadable and printable fact sheets about our native plants to encourage beneficial insects.

  • A YouTube webinar featuring Dr. Ashley Bloomfield, Cliona Ni Mhurchu, David Letele, and Adam Bradshaw. New Zealand's obesity crisis is now the country's leading risk factor for death and disability. Could be useful for L3 Biology.

  • Soilsafe Kids promotes education and outreach about soil for the younger people of our population.

  • Seafloor NZ is a recent initiative by Shaun Lee who has been taking photos of the seafloor from his kayak.

  • 92047 Energy Concepts in a Physical System Learning Guide; a new title with an introductory offer available until March 20th (LearnWell).

  • A new NZ Native Wildlife poster (Predator Free NZ)

  • The SPCA has a new dog-safety programme (SPCA). NB: This one's not really super science-specific, but it would seem strange not to at least mention it in a newsletter that is read by teachers and parents.

  • The Tītoki Landcare Facebook page is covering 100 Plants in 100 Days; each day a new video is posted describing how to identify the plant as well as some of their uses (Facebook). NB: We're not able to catalogue Facebook feeds, so this one hasn't been added to the directory (yet).

      RANGATAHI OPPORTUNITIES

  • Waikato University's Marine Science Student for a Day is back on April the 15th! Register or join the waitlist here!

  • Maketū Wetlands Society has brought the Moth Pod Challenge back for 2026, with school and community categories available!

  • TEDEd Student Talks provides a free platform for students to develop their ideas and share them on a global platform - this could be a great way for rangatahi to share their ideas on socioscientific issues (TEDEd)

  • Details for various regional 2026 science fairs are now available:

      KAIAKO OPPORTUNITIES

      EDUCATION ASSOCIATION UPDATES

This month's updates are available here. New changes for the week are below.


  • NZAEE (special thanks to Thea De Petris for this information).

    • Professional Learning | NZAEE are running free webinars over the term; you can watch the recordings of our previous webinars in our website.

      • March 12 4:00 - 5:00 pm | Integration of Sustainability Education for Secondary Learners Lyn Rogers will share case studies, resources and advice, with examples from both junior and senior secondary schools. We will also include time for discussion and some possible plans for our secondary educator support in Term Two.

      • March 25th 3:30 - 4:30 pm | Growing Spaces of Belonging Katie Earle will share research insights and practical advice for those exploring land-based pathways within their education setting. Aimed at educators working in Aotearoa primary and intermediate schools, this webinar is also relevant for environmental educators, nature educators and others who support the health and wellbeing of young people.


      As we start to plan our webinar schedule for Term Two, please get in touch (Becky@nzaee.org.nz) if you have a case study, research or new perspectives to share with our sector, or any suggestions for future session.


      NZAEE 2025 Evaluation Report | Read the Evaluation Report here


      The full report includes a wealth of interesting findings that are relevant to our sector, with direct quotes and key themes and actions identified. But we also know that many of you are limited for time, so we have included a table at the start of the report that highlights the key findings, with suggested actions for both NZAEE and sector groups. We would love to hear your thoughts about these actions and look forward to progressing them throughout the year, including providing space for collaborative discussions at our national conference.


  • SCENZ

    • BioLive ChemEd details are now live.

    • The following highlights have been sourced via the latest SCENZ newsletter:

      • Writing groups for Phase 5 subjects have been working for some weeks to prepare a first overview draft that will be critiqued by an independent review group over the next few weeks. Taking this feedback into account a more detailed draft will be developed that is expected to go out for feedback from the full education sector in the first half of the year.

      • The National Teacher Organisations of NZASE, SCENZ, NZIP, BEANZ and NZAMT have sent a letter of concern to NZQA about the timing of 4 STEM exams within 4 days.

      • SCENZ has sent a critique of last year's Level 2 chemistry exams to NZQA.

      • A series of webinars relating to best practice teaching L2 and L3 chemistry is being planned for Term 2 and Term 3; these will also be recorded.

      • RSC (Royal Society of Chemistry): teachers outside the UK are still limited to accessing one resource per month from their extensive range of chemistry education resources. However, if you find a resource that you would urgently like, e-mail ian.torrie@gmail.com

      • SCENZ memberships: There is a reduced membership cost for smaller schools and currently subscriptions have a 50% subsidy

        because of NEX funding from the Ministry. Schools that are isolated or have an inexperienced sole charge teacher can also apply for free membership.

      • SCENZ resources: in the next few weeks, online resources will include teaching and/or learning support for all L2 and L3 internals except C2.3. Online teaching resources will also be re-organised over the coming weeks.

      • Reminder: You can get all the compound chemistry posters here.



      SCIENCE CURRICULUM

  • Janine Higgins has created a website to support kaiako and tumuaki in Aotearoa, provide engaging and inclusive learning experiences, to uplift te reo me ona tikanga Māori, and acknowledge the Vision for Young People.

  • via a recent SCENZ newsletter: "Writing groups for Phase 5 subjects have been working for some weeks to prepare a first overview draft that will be critiqued by an independent review group over the next few weeks. Taking this feedback into account a more detailed draft will be developed that is expected to go out for feedback from the full education sector in the first half of the year."

  • Reminders:

      NCEA

  • Reminders:

    • NZQA has published National Moderator's reports for 2026. The reports gives feedback to assist assessors with general issues and trends that have been identified during external moderation of the internally assessed standards in 2025. For convenience, Bay Science has collated all the science reports here.

      PIVOTAL PERSPECTIVES

Readings and talks which may be relevant to us; commentaries and research relevant to science education and curriculum reform.


How well is the science curriculum refresh process working so far?

  • 0%Working well

  • 0%Mixed results

  • 0%Not working well

  • 0%Not sure


Findings from previous informal polls



The percentages reported above were sourced as at March 08, 2026.

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© 2025 Lian Soh and Vicki Alderson-Wallace

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