May 25- visit to the Aquarium.
Today was a great day of learning about New Zealand’s politics and how it impacts the fishery industry and other sea mammals. Richard De Mamel, a marine biologist/educator gave us a guided tour of the local aquarium in Mapua. Richard started by giving the environmental history of Mapua, a city on the South Island of New Zealand. There were chemicals dumped into the water that contaminated the soils. The contaminated land was eventually turned into a public park after several attempts to neutralize the soil by heating it to 120C.
It was a wonderful experience to visit the aquarium and see different kinds of oceanic species. I also had a great time playing with and feeding the eels. It was a great scenery and a learn opportunity about how every species in the food chain plays important role in maintaining and sustaining the ecosystem. The ecosystem suffers a loss when one species in the chain is depleted. Being at the aquarium created a strong connection for me in appreciating more of the fish species in ecological and biological terms. My grandfather fished for a living and my father was also a fisherman up to time when we left home and traveled to the U.S. With fishing being so substantial in my family I never stopped to think about the effects it had on the animal and plant species. It was not until college where I began to understand fully the effects in both biological and ecological terms.
Coming from a family of fishermen and farmers it was easy to brush past different plant and animal species. I often took them for granted and ignored their biological significance to the environment. Coming to New Zealand has given me such a great opportunity to learn and appreciate the different plant animal species that I most often didn’t pay any attention to. I think part of the reasons for not having a physical attachment to the rivers, lakes, mountains, trees, animals etc… is more of a cultural tendency and tradition of being raised in a nature environment. It does not surprise me when I am in the bush or forest area because that’s where I grew up. I usually don’t get excited about going camping or being in the wilderness because the wilderness has been my home for a long time. What gets me excited though is the fact that every moment I spent in the woods, hiking up on the mountain, watching the waterfalls, or visiting aquarium and seeing different species of fish, I learned new things. I learned about the ecosystem of the different species of plants and animals and their importance to the environment.
Solid Energy & Native Snails
May 28th
Today we visited the Stockton Mine, New Zealand’s largest Opencast Coalmine/Solid Energy Coal Mine at its West Port production plant. Mickey the tour guide, along with the environmental scientist Phil R. directed a tour of the mine and talked about the general operation of the company and some of the geological make-ups of the plant. Solid Energy is a government owned company that has been in operation for around a hundred years. Over the past five years the company began major environmental efforts including restoring native vegetations and rehabilitation of the ecosystem. The site of the company was home to the native snail species in the western region of the New Zealand. Stockton Coalmine was given permission by the Minister of Conservation to relocate the native snails in order to carry out coal mining in the area. Visiting the Solid Energy coal-mining site was a great opportunity for us to learn about both the politics and the science involved in dealing with the environmental controversies surrounding coal mining and species lost. Solid Energy is also involved with water treatment to clean up run-off from coal into the rivers and streams. I think it is good for the environment that the company is undertaking the necessary steps to avoid even more environmental destruction to the ecosystem. Our visit was very successful and I enjoyed it a lot.
No comments:
Post a Comment