An enthusiastic bunch of Dannevirke students received practical, hands-on skills for monitoring river quality from Scientist Patterson of Horizons regional council. Students enjoyed trekking through native bush and climbing over rocks and pebbles as they made their way across the river of Tamaki reserve. The latter lies at the foot of the Ruahine Ranges, 18 km's from Dannevirke and links to te Ruahine Forest Park.

Our group conducted a series of tests for clarity, dissolved oxygen nitrates and phosphates and found a range of freshwater crayfish in the river. The water quality of the river was quite good. LAWA reports that ‘ the Tamaki River in the vicinity of this site is valued as a trout spawning reach and is a significant aquatic habitat for dwarf galaixs. Just downstream of this monitoring site is the intake for Dannevirke’s water supply take. The Tamaki River has had a large amount of fencing carried out on it to restrict stock access’. LAWA Results to date include:

Students contrasted their results at Tamaki reserve with observations recorded at the Woodville ferry reserve, noting that they caught more fish than crayfish between the two streams.