April 2020

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Kia ora and welcome to the first Marine Metre Squared newsletter of 2020!

We will be sending out newsletters more regularly to share some ways that you can still engage in the Marine Metre Squared project from the comfort of your living room or classroom, wherever that might be. The highlighted activities will help students develop their science skills and learn about our seashore environment, without getting wet!

Why Citizen Science?

Citizen science is when members of the public volunteer their time and skills to work with scientists to gather information to answer scientific questions. Mm² is a great example of a citizen science project! Karitane School has found lots of reasons why they should be monitoring their shoreline – find out more in the video Tomorrow’s Caretakers. And Dr Keith Probert, from the University of Otago, has shared his view on how Mm² can contribute to our knowledge about mudflats in What’s on your Mudflat.

It all starts with a square....

One of the key pieces in Marine Metre Squared is the square itself, called a quadrat by scientists. Quadrats are very useful tools as they focus your attention on a small section of the environment, allowing you to see more detail… a bit like binoculars. Quadrats are useful tools to subsample a large area to get a representative picture of number of different species found on the seashore (biodiversity) and how many there are in a measured area (abundance). To find out more about quadrats, and their use by scientists, see Science Learning Hub: Quadrat.

Make your own quadrat!

You can easily make your own 1 metre square quadrat to survey the seashore community. A 4 metre piece of string, with knots tied every meter works fine – or maybe 4 flax leaves tied together. Be creative with the materials you use! Cardboard, bamboo, plastic, wood can all be used to make a quadrat. If you have pipe and some bungee cord you can make a quadrat that is foldable and reusable. For instructions on how to make your own quadrat click here! We would love to see what you come up with. Please email photos of your quadrat to marinemetresquared@gmail.com so we can share them! Or tag us @marinemetre2 in your social media so we can re-post your photos.

Download DIY quadrat information

Practice Makes Perfect!

Once made, practice using the quadrat. You can bring the rocky shore to your living room - What Lives on the Rocky Shore? Or cut out the photos on the rocky seashore guide, sprinkle onto your living room carpet (now the seashore) and using your quadrat practice your identification and counting skills. Or survey the plants / insects in your backyard.

Seashore Social Media

We are currently doing an ABC of things related to Marine Metre Squared on Facebook and Instagram. We have been sharing fun things to do at home or at your local shore (if it is within walking distance!) To keep up to date, make sure you are following us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram on @marinemetre2.

Up Next....

Next newsletter will cover the similarities (and differences) of completing surveys on the rocky shore and on sandy/muddy shores

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