Pupils protest waterway pollution

JILL McKEE/ID 122663

NO MORE COW POO! Salford School pupils marching along the Waihopai floodbank protesting water pollution yesterday.

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It was power to the pupils at Salford School yesterday.

Two Salford School classes exercised their democratic rights by staging a peaceful protest about the state of Southland's water-ways.

Fifty year 3, 4 and 6 pupils walked from Salford School along the floodbank of the Waihopai River, chanting and waving their banners and placards, condemning water pollution in all its forms.

They then arrived at Environment Southland where they handed over letters of encouragement supporting Environment Southland's role in water quality.

Ten-year-old Oliver Pearson said the protest was important because water quality would affect generations to come.

"In the future, like, when our children may be drinking polluted water and they might die," he said.

Pupil Brianna Sexton, 10, said the protest was scary because they did not know what was going to happen next. "Pollution is killing fish and other creatures that live in the water, which breaks the food chain," she said.

Liam Hewitt, 7, said there were lots of different things polluting the water. "Cow poo, a lot of rubbish, cans, stuff like that." The march was aimed to help people remember to stop polluting, Liam said. "(It's) to actually help a couple of people notice they're polluting sometimes." Georgia O'Connor, 8, offered some ideas to help get Southland's waterways clean.

"Fence off streams at farms." Teacher Hamish MacPherson said the march went tremendously well.

The protest marked the social action phase of an inquiry by the classes about what quality water was.

Earlier in the week the group was spoken to by Invercargill Mayor Tim Shadbolt about what made a great protest, and during the term people from Fish and Game and Enviroment Southland talked to the pupils.

"It was to actually make it (learning) authentic for kids ... to get them to use their knowledge." It was the first protest staged by the school but certainly would not be the last, Mr MacPherson said. "It was a powerful little protest." Environment Southland chairman Stuart Collie said he was impressed with the pupils' presentation and knowledge of the topics, particularly on dairy farming and effluent.

He told the group Environment Southland had plans in place to deal with pollution issues to protect waterways for the future, he said.

"I suppose to some extent they reflect what they hear from their parents and teachers and what they see on television and read about, but they're acutely aware. Children are infinitely more aware ... on what they see as issues."

This year raised levels of E coli were detected in the Waikaia, Mataura, Aparima, Oreti and Waiau rivers, likely to be caused by faecal contamination from animals.

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