The Briefing | Issue No. 7 - Bay Science

Rātapu 22 o Poutū-te-rangi 2026

Aotearoa Educator's Collective has put together a webinar recording and consultation portal for the draft science learning area . Adobe Stock

Kia ora koutou

We still have a few spaces left for our cluster meeting on Thursday — this will also be our final reminder. The day will centre on the draft science curriculum, supporting the consultation process and giving teachers time to build familiarity with the changes together. On a related note, as Phase 5 is scheduled for Term 2, we are exploring venues for Cluster Two that have a large meeting space as well as breakout rooms for specialist areas. Like our Thursday cluster, this will be open to educators from outside of the Bay of Plenty too -- if you are travelling, let us know.

Also, one of our readers is still looking for a few more participants for her research, which explores how women secondary science and mathematics teachers take an equity focused approach when they enact leadership in their departments, schools, and communities.

You'll notice that there are also a few high-level international awards (see General News below) which might seem oddly placed; however, some of you might know someone who has contributed significantly on a global scale -- perhaps they've even visited your class in the past!

Ngā manaakitanga,

Bay Science

info@bayscience.nz

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      GENERAL NEWS

• [AKL] EcoFest 2026 launches today. EcoFest is a month-long celebration of Tāmaki Makaurau's unique environments featuring 400 hosts and 1000 events.
  

• The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has opened nominations for the 2026 Champions of the Earth award – the UN’s highest environmental honour. Open to individuals and organisations, this year the spotlight is on ocean action. Closes April 15th.
  

• A kit with official Lego pieces for Kārearea, the 2025 Bird of the Year, is now available on Bricks By Mike.
  

• [TGA] Registrations are now open for the 6th Australia New Zealand Marine Biotechnology Society Conference 2026, bringing 200+ experts, researchers, students and industry leaders to showcase developments in marine biotechnology.
  

• Can you help? A PhD student from the University of Canterbury, Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha, is still looking for a few more participants for her research
  

• Nominations are open for the 2026 UNESCO Prize for Girls’ and Women’s Education, with awards of USD $50,000.
  

• Citizen Science: The DNADRV project is using DNA collected from insect traces on car number plates to map insect biodiversity across Aotearoa New Zealand. Just two weeks left to go!
  

• Tauranga City Council’s Climate Action Fund is open for applications to support community-led climate and biodiversity projects, closing 1 May 2026.
  

• Organisations supporting young people from Katikati to Ōpōtiki are encouraged to apply for the Bay of Plenty Education Trust’s 2026 Supplementary Grants, with up to $75,000 available (BoP Education Trust)
  

• Ōtūmoetai College’s OATs robotics team, Mecha Squad 2941H, has qualified for the VEX Robotics World Championship in St Louis next month after securing silver at the 2026 VEX Robotics National Championship (Sunlive)
  

      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 23

• Stingrays — But They’re Everywhere, Why Should I Care? (Café Scientifique Tauranga)

• OECD Digital Education Outlook Conference takes place online over the next two days; see all the webinars here.

Mar 24

• ESSENZ Webinar: Combining Level 2 and Level 3 courses (register here)

• Can we educate our way out of the climate crisis? (Hamilton public lecture with Prof. Chris Eames)

Mar 25

• Planning safe water-based experiences (EONZ Online event)

• Learning Bite: Foraging Kai (Para Kore online event)

• Growing spaces of belonging (NZAEE Webinar)

Mar 26

• Bay Science Cluster 1: The Draft Science Curriculum (Pāpāmoa)

• Envirohub Clothes Swap Tauranga (Envirohub BoP)

• Foraged-finds Fungi Craft Workshop (Fungi Fest NZ, Western BOP)

• RESCHEDULED TO APR 29 - Agritech Seminar: Land in Transtion (BoP, Wai Kōkopu)

Mar 27

• Restoration Ramble at I’Anson Bush Reserve (register).

• Sustainability Film Festival (Mana Kai Mana Ora, Tauranga)

Mar 28

• Friends of the Bush Benefit Concert 2026 (Envirohub BoP)

• Flight of the Kōkako Trail Run (Paraiti Catchment Care Group)

• Take a Walk on the Wild Side - Tikitapu (DoC, Rotorua)

• MOTAT STEM Fair 2026 Auckland (MOTAT)

• Community Pest Plant Workshop (Maketū Ongatoro Wetland Society)

• Permaculture in Action: Grow a regenerative backyard (Soil and Soul Permaculture, Lower Kaimai).

Mar 29

• Fungi Fest Community Day 2026 (Envirohub BoP)

• Big Clean Project (across Rotorua)

• Crop Swap Tauranga (Envirohub BoP)

• Think Like a Forest movie screening (Western BoP)

Mar 30

• Earth and Science Educators Webinar: Level 2 Internal Assessments  (register here)

Mar 31

• OECD's AI in Work, Innovation, Productivity, and Skills (AI-WIPS) international conference takes place over five days; featuring 10 live sessions.

• Sustainable Backyards Bay of Plenty photo competition closes.

• Otago Science Teacher's Association (OSTA) have organised for Professor KC Huang from Stanford University to speak about his latest research on how bacteria function as physical organisms - not just genetic ones. RSVP to Mel Christian at: mchristian@taieri.school.nz by 24th March.

Apr 1

• Education Outdoors NZ | Planning Safe Water-Based Experiences (online PLD for primary and secondary educators).

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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 International Science Festival (15-19 July)

  
  

• 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.

• Did you know? Your school has a digital subscription to the archive section of NZGeo.com
  

• Shademap allows you to simulate shadows at any time of the day.
  

• A little higher level, but still quite interesting: The Human Organ Atlas cellular and organ scale images of whole intact organs.
  

• Tītoki Landcare are now c.a a quarter of the way through their 100 Plants in 100 Days series. This series covers the identification, features and uses of our native plant species (Tītoki Landcare Facebook)
  

• A Helen Clark Foundation webinar featuring World Health Organisation experts explores climate change as an urgent threat to health and wellbeing, with impacts across Aotearoa and the Asia-Pacific.
  

• Whakatāne District Council (WDC) has launched the Whakatāne Adaptation Explorer as a visual aid for climate adaptation planning. Great interactive maps to explore and find patterns; best viewed on devices larger than a phone; takes a few seconds to load.
  

• [AKL] Climate Club Aotearoa offers Ripple Effect workshops for Year 7-13 students. Workshops are based on climate science and showcase examples of youth climate actions, as well as interactive and reflective activities.
  

• The Copernicus Browser is an online tool that lets you explore and analyse Earth observation data from satellite sensors (like Sentinel) to view environmental changes such as land use, weather, and oceans. Best viewed on a device larger than a phone; takes a moment to load. Tip: in the left hand panel, click on use the dropdown arrow to select "Sentinel-5P" to look at methane, cloud, carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, nitrogen dioxide, ozone and sulfur dioxide data across the world.
  

      RANGATAHI OPPORTUNITIES

• The first Tauranga Student Space Innovation Hub (TSSIH) session has now been confirmed, with students invited to kick off their journey into space innovation this April. Ngā mihi Jim Critchley.
  

• Tauranga City Libraries have has published their school holiday programme.
  

• Girls in Infrastructure is back for 2026 in Auckland, Waikato, Northland, Wellington and Christchurch! Register here.
  

• STEAM-ED have released their Term 2 afterschool and homeschool programmes.

  
  

• Reminders:
  

  • STEAM-ED Tauranga has published their April 2026 holiday programme
    

  • Bricks 4 Kidz Tauranga have released their April 2026 holiday programme.
    

      KAIAKO OPPORTUNITIES

• The Curriculum Insights study is seeking teacher researchers for a paid 10-week Term 3 role collecting student achievement data in schools across Aotearoa.
  

• Bay Science is hosting a free face-to-face meeting on March 26th to sift through the draft science curriculum. All those with an interest in science education are invited. Details and registration here.
  

• Reminders

  • Nominations for the new Royal Society Te Apārangi Teaching Excellence Award (STEM) are now open. Closes March 31st.

      EDUCATION ASSOCIATION UPDATES

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

• AEC

  • Aotearoa Educator's Collective have published a webinar recording, and created a consultation portal, for the draft science curriculum.

• ESSENZ

  • Upcoming webinars: Combining L2 & L3 ESS Courses (Tuesday 24th March) and L2 Internal Assessments (Tuesday March 30th). Register here.

    
    

• HATA

  • Carlos Mancer (Lincoln University, Kellogg Rural Leadership Programme) is looking for secondary teachers to share their experiences with online and blended learning, including LMS use and AI. The short survey (5–10 minutes) is anonymous and will help inform the future of agricultural training. Take part here. Consent form below.
    

Consent Form - surveys.docx

Download DOCX • 145KB

• NZAEE

  • NZAEE has published guidance to support consultation of the Te Mātaiaho 2026 draft.

  • Upcoming webinar: Growing Spaces of Belonging (March 25th).
    

• NZASE

  • ICYMI: NZASE's March 11 newsletter.

  • Article: Weaving Mātauranga Māori into the Classroom

  • Article: From London to Aotearoa: How Science in a Van began

  • NZASE membership options are available here.

Did you know?

• Technology Educators New Zealand (TENZ) have published a submission guide for the draft technology curriculum. Additional tips on how to structure and make a submission can also be found here.
  

• The Australian Science Teacher's Association (ASTA) have released their latest Teaching Science Journal, featuring their climate change education position paper and classroom-ready resources, including a classic example of a Vitamin C titration, but re-imagined for Kakadu Plum Extract (p16) which is a culturally significant food -- the resource offered aims to support teachers at the beginning stages of their journey showcasing Indigenous knowledges.

      SCIENCE CURRICULUM

• A Bay Science cluster meeting is taking place on Thursday, March 26th, to support the consultation process and give kaiako and educators the time to engage with all of the draft material in detail. Register here; it's free.

• Reminders:
  

  • Phase 5 of the science curriculum will be released in May-June; this has been included in our science curriculum timeline. Bay Science will be regularly updating this timeline as new information becomes available.

    
    

  • Feedback on the draft science curriculum Y0-10 is due on April 24th.
    

  • Science Learning Kits from MoE are also available with the opportunity for feedback.
    

  • A public change.org poll is live to extend the consultation period on the draft curriculum.
    

      NCEA & ASSESSMENT

• The Ministry of Education has released new professional learning for SMART on their learning management system. .
  

• Reminders:
  

  • NZQA has published National Moderator's reports for 2026. The reports give 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.
    

  • A range of career opportunities are currently available at NZQA, including moderator roles for various subjects.

    
    

      PIVOTAL PERSPECTIVES

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

• NZCER highlights how student wellbeing data can be used to inform attendance planning and address the underlying causes of absence.
  

• For our readers interested in global frameworks and influences:
  

  • UNESCO, UNICEF and ITU have launched a global charter for public digital learning platforms.
    

  • At the ISTP 2026 summit, countries outlined priorities including stronger teacher development, greater autonomy and improved wellbeing to address key challenges in education. See a list of what every country is committing to here (OECD)

    
    

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How do you feel about the amount of content in the draft science curriculum?

• 0%Far too much
• 0%Slightly too much
• 0%About right
• 0%Slightly too little

See All Results

Findings from previous informal polls

• 56% of readers are not trialling or implementing the draft science curriculum, in Term 1 2026
  

• 88% of readers would like General Science to be a subject in Year 12 and 13
  

• 84% of readers have major concerns about the draft science learning area
  

• 69% of readers think that the pace of the science curriculum changes feels too fast 
  

• 94% of readers think that the Nature of Science should be explicitly taught in the science curriculum 
  

• 83% of readers do not think that draft science curriculum adequately prepares students for a world shaped by AI, climate change and global uncertainty.
  

• 67% of readers believe the science curriculum refresh process is not working well.
  

• 80% of readers believe the draft science curriculum provides very little opportunity for student agency and action.

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The Briefing is Bay Science’s weekly email newsletter for anyone interested in the latest developments in science education. Subscribe below to receive each edition.

Bay Science is a noticeboard for science education news and events across Aotearoa New Zealand, helping educators and community members across the country. If your organisation has a kaupapa, event, or opportunity to share with the science education community, we’d love to share it.