Posted by Helen Armstrong

During my career as a primary school teacher I have helped many students plant in excess of a thousand native trees and shrubs in and around our school. And never in that time have I ever wondered about tree physiology-until now.

At present I am part of a group of teachers participating in a Science Teaching Leadership Programme [STLP] administered by the Royal Society Te Apārangi. The programme has two specific phases. The first phase involves teachers taking paid leave from their school for two terms to engage in a programme of learning that involves them working in a host organisation for approximately 15 weeks, alongside scientific staff, to get an appreciation of the Nature of Science. The Nature of Science is the over-arching theme of the New Zealand Curriculum which all schools teach science through. The second phase of the programme involves the teacher working alongside school management and their teaching colleagues to improve the quality of science learning across the school or science department.

I am being hosted by Dr Cate Macinnis-Ng and the School of Biological Sciences. She and her team of PhD and Masters students are working on projects which are looking at how environmental changes, such as drought, affects kauri and other native trees such as tanekaha.

I am enjoying discovering how and when a tree uses such things as sugar, water and carbon and how these are transported around a tree. Before being part of this research I thought I had a fairly good grasp on how a tree or plant breaths. Turns out there is so much more I didn’t know, but thanks to Cate and her team who have given me the opportunity to be involved in their research, I am learning so much more than I could ever learn by reading articles or watching YouTube clips.

Being part of an ongoing research project has really opened my eyes as to what scientific research involves. In the media you see and read about all the amazing work and breakthroughs scientists have made all around the world. But what you don’t see is the hours of work, determination and set- backs that go into discovering something new- be it a cure for the common cold or how trees react under changing conditions.

I am excited to use what I have learned in my placement back at my school and channel the natural curiosity of our students into as many different curriculum areas as possible, enabling them to have a deeper understanding of science. Some of the projects I have been involved in whilst on my placement can be modified to be used in a classroom so the children will be even more able to benefit from the experience I have had.

I am willing, able and very keen to learn as much as I can whilst on my placement which will end in late June 2018, so if you need an extra pair of hands for fieldwork, experiments, presentations or are involved in anything that you think I might find interesting, please feel free to contact me.

helena@easttamaki.school.nz