WAI Wānaka building a community of freshwater champions

July marks the global movement of Plastic Free July, encouraging individuals to be part of the solution to plastic pollution and refuse single-use plastic items for the entire month (and beyond). Why? So we can have cleaner lakes, rivers, oceans, and communities.

Plastics, especially microplastics, are literally everywhere. They are in the clothes we wear, the food we eat, the vessels we eat and drink from, they are in the lakes and rivers; thus, they are inside our bodies also.

We’re fortunate to have an abundance of people here who care about our environment. Local community organisation, WAI Wānaka have a simple but ambitious purpose: to protect and restore the health of freshwater for generations to come. They believe everyone has a role to play in protecting our freshwater, and they’re here to help bring people together to do just that.

A Teeny Tiny Truth: Microplastics in our waterways

After students from Mt Aspiring College found significant quantities of small plastic fragments around the Wānaka lakefront, a question was sparked: if we’re finding these plastic fragments on the lakefront, what’s in the water and where are they coming from?

WAI Wānaka saw this as an opportunity to bring freshwater scientists together with the community to investigate further. They connected with Veronia Rotman (marine scientist, current doctoral candidate, and science communicator with a background in microplastics research) to create “A Teeny Tiny Truth,” a research project that investigates microplastics in our fresh water, while empowering our community to participate and drive change.

If you’d like to learn more, head to waiwanaka.nz/actions/a-teeny-tiny-truth/

Citizen science: join the research revolution

Citizen science is everyday people (aka volunteers) getting involved in scientific research projects. It bridges the gap between scientists and the general public, empowering individuals to contribute to data collection, analysis, and reporting. By engaging in citizen science, communities can help monitor local ecosystems and drive evidence-based action.

WAI Wānaka are passionate about involving our community in citizen science, especially when it comes to freshwater research. They have a few different ways you can get involved and make a difference; by attending a Get Your Feet Wet event where you will learn how to monitor key indicators of stream health, joining a beach clean-up, collecting water samples and testing them for microplastics, or heading out on the water for a Secchi Disk trip.

Ultimately, WAI Wānaka are working to build a community of freshwater champions – people who are not only informed, but also equipped and motivated to make choices that lead to healthier waterways.

To stay in the loop with WAI Wānaka, sign up to their newsletter, follow them on socials or keep an eye on their volunteer events page on their website www.waiwanaka.nz