School students in New Zealand can now learn from New Zealand’s most significant maritime pollution emergency, the grounding of MV Rena.
“What now for the Rena?” is an article in “Getting the Message”, one of the issues in the New Zealand Ministry of Education’s Connected 2016 series. Connected promotes the exploration and learning of ideas in science, mathematics, and technology for students in years 4 to 8.
Long-term Impacts
Maritime NZ Director, Keith Manch, said the agency was very pleased to work with the Ministry to help produce the article: 'The Rena grounding was a major maritime event. Most of the 360 tonnes of oil, plus other pollution, was cleared within months, but the environmental, social, economic, and cultural impacts continued for years.'
“What now for the Rena?” focuses on the long-term impacts of the grounding and looks at what factors were considered when deciding on the wreck’s future. It links to the article “After the Spill” in Connected 2013.
Critical Thinking
Teachers have responded enthusiastically to the article. Their comments include:
- 'I found this article very interesting. When you see what was on board and escaped you get to think beyond the oil to other contaminants.'
- 'The way this and the previous Rena article have been written, and the depth of ideas that are explored in both, provide great modelling on critical thinking for the students.'
The article is available in print and digital versions. Schools can order copies of the printed issues of Connected 2016 from www.thechair.minedu.govt.nz. The digital version, with student and teacher support material, is available to download from the Connected page at https://instructionalseries.tki.org.nz.
