Each year the Sir Peter Blake Trust (BLAKE) aims to inspire thousands of young New Zealanders to care for the environment through activities and adventures that encourage environmental awareness and leadership, and instill a deeper sense of kaitiakitanga within them.
On Tuesday 20th and Wednesday 21st May 2025, our Year 5–6 students had the exciting opportunity to participate in the Blake NZ-VR programme. Each class experienced a 30-minute virtual reality (VR) session exploring the topic: “Threats to our Moana.”
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Through immersive underwater footage, students learned about;
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marine habitats
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food webs
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marine reserves
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pollution
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overfishing and the importance of kaitiakitanga (guardianship).
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This experience deepened their understanding of the challenges facing our oceans, how human activity impacts our marine ecosystems and the crucial role we all play in protecting them.
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This unique learning opportunity supports our wider sustainability focus and sparked meaningful discussions in class.
Student Quotes:
“It felt like I was actually under the sea! I didn’t realise how much plastic ends up in the ocean—it made me want to help more to look after our moana so that future generations can enjoy it.”
–Kaysen, Year 5“I learned that sea sponges help clean the ocean by eating bad bacteria and they produce cleaner, fresh water. Seaweed are also important as they help filter the water, keeping it clean. They also provide fish a safe place to hide from predators. Just like sea sponges and seaweed, we need to do more to help keep our moana clean and healthy.”
– Taylan-Mallan, Year 6“If we stop dumping chemicals and rubbish in the ocean, we will be good kaitiaki of the moana and the sealife will thrive. I learnt that the snapper and crayfish are also guardians of the seaweed because they can crack open the tough kina shell and eat them. This is important because kinas are pests that eat lots of seaweed and fish rely heavily on seaweed to survive.”
– Abiel, Year 6