Healthy seas for Seaweek

Date:  28 February 2013

Celebrate our connection to the ocean with Seaweek, from 2-10 March 2013. 

This year’s theme celebrates “Toiora te Moana – Toiora te Tangata, Healthy Seas – Healthy People” which calls on people to think about what we enjoy and appreciate about our ocean and actions we can take to keep our seas healthy for all. 

“Basically if the sea is healthy, it means that we will be healthy. The sea is an important part of our wellbeing: for recreation, food, work, transport and so on. There are small actions we can take that make a huge difference to the health of our seas” says Jacqueline Hayes-Kingi Community Relations Ranger with the Department of Conservation (DOC). 

Such actions include being responsible with rubbish, only taking enough seafood for a meal, planting natives by our waterways, looking at our land use and how it effects the waterways that lead to the sea.  

“Learning about the sea and marine life is one of the best actions we can take. The more we know, the better equipped we are to look after our marine environment now and into the future” says Mrs Hayes-Kingi. 

Events lined up for Seaweek include:

• The annual kids pictures and stories competition for children aged 3-12 years to share what they love about the sea and how we can protect it
• East Bay REAP say to book in fast for the Seaweek Ohiwa Science Exploration day at Port Ohope where tamariki explore the wonders of our ocean 
• There is an opportunity to learn about the impact of mangroves in Ohiwa Harbour by joining a working bee
• Seaweek also combines with Parks Week in Opotiki with DOC staff providing marine themed activity

“We can make comparisons about what the sea was like ten or twenty years ago and know that it is not as healthy as it has been. It will be a sad day if we have to visit a museum to see what a ‘Paua’ looks like. Yet if we all become kaitiaki (guardians) we will ensure the future health of our moana (sea)” says Mrs Hayes-Kingi. 

Seaweek is organised by the New Zealand Association for Environmental Education (NZAEE) and is in its 22^nd year.

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