After a good night's rest (and Dr. H waking happy knowing that the Crusaders will take on the Jaguars in Super Rugby finals next weekend), we all met up on the Lincoln Uni Tennis Courts for some Low Ropes team building exercises so we could get to know one another better and test out our warm jackets (morning frost and a nice 34 degrees Fahrenheit and sunny).
After brunch, Dr. Hostetler gave his first lecture about conserving and restoring biodiversity. Conservation involves a variety of decision makers, and each stakeholder needs to be engaged from the homeowner, to the developer/landowner and planner. The Canterbury Plains have less than 10 percent of native vegetation remaining. Thus, small native plantings across the plains can have (cumulatively) a huge impact. Once plants get established - birds can forage in these areas and continue to spread the seeds to nearby lands. The class will be working with landowners and NGOs to help restore small parcels of land.
 |
| Students taking notes in a makeshift classroom |
Then it was off to the Adventure Park to watch the Mud, Sweat, and Tears competition. Sunny day but lots of mud! This is a 10K race through the mud, forest, and hills. Even one of our students (Maryanna) got christened by a mud-slinging participant!
 |
| Students watching the race |
 |
| Unusual costumes! |
|
|
 |
| Here is mud in your eye! (Or in this case on your jacket) |
After our first stop at a fish and chip shop, we went for a walk at the
Halswell Quary, where stone used to be mined to build some of the
historic buildings in the area. Halswell stone was used for several
historic buildings in Christchurch. Students also began to learn about
native flora and fauna in the area (e.g., a fantail was spotted and we
saw lots of lemonwood).
 |
| Fish and chips with the proprietors. |
 |
| Catalogue photo shoot at the quarry. |
Cheers, Meryl and Dr. Hostetler
No comments:
Post a Comment