River Voices

River Voices is a free educational resource with DVD from Fish & Game NZ, providing schools with curriculum-based inquiry learning in social sciences, science and education for sustainability.

River Voices:

Is for years 7–10
Promotes values exploration and perspectives
Uses the Waimakariri River as an authentic learning context
Provides extensive teaching and learning experiences, as well as a list of background material and resources
Features a thought-provoking DVD of people describing their relationship with the river

Fish & Game showcased the new educational resource River Voices at the Social Sciences teachers’ conference (SOC CON) held at Te Wharewaka on the Wellington waterfront. Thanks to all the teachers who attended our workshop – your feedback was invaluable!

Available now

The River Voices resource is available in hard copy as 24-page teacher’s notes and accompanying DVD, click on the links to watch each segment:

Introduction
Where's the balance?
Town and country
A fisherman's tale
Fun on the water
Counting on fish
The big event
My river, my mountain
Last waters

**What is the River Voices – A Social Inquiry resource?**

It is an integrated educational resource designed to encourage and support teachers to use local rivers as an authentic learning context to generate inquiry learning with their students. The DVD provided in the resource presents several people talking about one New Zealand river – the Waimakariri in Canterbury – and their relationship with that river.

The teacher’s notes provide learning experiences, some great teaching ideas and an extensive list of background material and resources that may be used to support students’ pathways through an inquiry-based learning process. The material provided is not designed as a prescribed learning programme or as a stand-alone sequence of learning experiences. Rather, teachers are encouraged to use the material to support and build their own locally-focused programmes.

We have focused on the social sciences learning area, but we encourage cross-curricula links, particularly to science, literacy and education for sustainability.

A short note from Fish & Game

“River Voices is an engaging new resource that uses a social-inquiry approach to explore the issues of environmental sustainability in New Zealand’s rivers.

Fish & Game New Zealand have produced this resource to support and encourage young people to develop an awareness of the issues facing our freshwater environment. We are a public entity with a statutory responsibility for the management and enhancement of freshwater fishing and gamebird hunting. We receive no taxpayer funding; all revenue is generated by the sale of fishing and hunting licences. Our primary roles are the protection and improvement of freshwater habitats and of the public’s access to them.

We are also eager to encourage students’ engagement with our natural world. We support New Zealand’s anglers and hunters to get young people engaged with the issues facing our freshwater environment. We recognise the need for students to be equipped to make decisions that will benefit themselves, their families, their communities and all future generations.

Fish & Game New Zealand is eager to acknowledge schools that are actively looking out for the environment, and support them in their endeavours. If your students are involved in protecting New Zealand’s rivers, please let us know so that we can celebrate your achievements with you.

You can contact us on (04) 499 4767 or at nzcouncil@fishandgame.org.nz.

We encourage you and your students to take up the challenge of learning about the environment, people’s relationships with the environment and what things we can all do to make a difference.