Escape Report
The 2009 ESCAPE students have successfully completed field camp and are now enjoying semester life. The field camp this year began on the beautiful beaches of Northland, New Zealand and ended up at a mini-Superfund site in the Bay of Plenty region. Themes that were threaded through the entire field camp included the collection of scientific field data to assess issues of environmental guardianship, the balance between natural hazards and resources, and the ideas of restoration, rehabilitation and sustainability.
Field Module 1: Marine Ecology in Northland:
In this module, students were introduced to several different marine ecosystems on both the west and east coasts of Northland. Field exercises were conducted in mangrove and sand flat habitats, intertidal and subtidal rocky shore environments and offshore marine habitats in the subtropical Poor Nights marine reserve (one of Cousteau’s top 10 dive sites in the world). There is an emphasis on marine conservation and resources as students applied there newfound knowledge to the sustainable collection of a few mussels and cray fish for a traditional New Zealand-style barbecue dinner. Data collected during this field module is being used for semester student research projects.
Field Module 2: Maori perspectives on environmental guardianship or kaitiakitanga:
This field module took place in the Bay of Plenty region of the North Island where students were exposed to several different on-going projects that use a traditional Maori earth systems approach to environmental guardianship and management. These projects include wetland restoration, eel management, debris flow and flood hazard management and rehabilitation, coastal dune restoration, and the environmental economics behind the kiwi fruit industry.
Field Module 3: Volcanoes- giveth life and taketh away: cone construction, hazards, ancient life and natural resources:
In this module, we jump to the North Island and into the geologic future to the Quaternary. This module is designed to provide the student and opportunity to examine how quickly geologic processes can occur in an active and dynamic environment. Specifically, students map lava flows on the flanks of Mt. Doom from Lord of the Rings, examine the deposits left behind by the 2007 lahars on Mt. Ruapehu, map sinters and hot springs in an active geothermal system, and discuss the balance between geohazards and natural resources in a rapidly evolving geologic system
This module gave the students an opportunity to use field equipment to collect data in an effort to better understand the role that Holocene sea-level, tectonics, and sediment flux play in another rapidly evolving geologic system. By deciphering this complex earth system, students can see how scientific data is used to make informed decisions with respect to natural hazards. In this case, hazards include storm surges, floods, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Data collected during this field module is being used for semester student research projects.
Field Module 5: From source to sink: Using environmental field techniques techniqes to understand the fate of contaminants from source (a superfund-like waste site) to sink (a coastal and esturine environment)
This module gave students insight into the complex relationships between Maori Tribes and New Zealand’s governmental as the groups fight over a once pristine lake that was taken by the government to be used as a waste dump for a pulp and paper mill. Using observational and environmental field techniques such as surface and ground water sampling and ground penetrating radar, students characterized the hydrogeology of the waste site, sampled the site for inorganic contaminants, and identified buried waste drums, a potential source of contamination.