Biodiversity and the Webs of Life — A City of Literature and Enviroschools Celebration of The Great Southern Bioblitz

From the sandy dunes of Tomahawk Beach to the reeds of the lagoon, Ōtepoti UNESCO City of Literature was thrilled to partner with Enviroschools to publish a collection of poems to celebrate the 2024 Enviroschools Ōtepoti Dunedin Year 4–6 Hui.

The hui was coordinated by Jennie Upton and Tess Mackay, DCC Enviroschools Facilitators, and hosted at Grants Braes AFC with support from local experts. It brought together ākonga (students) and kaiako (teachers) from eleven primary schools to explore local biodiversity as part of The Great Southern Bioblitz: an international biodiversity survey across several designated Southern Hemisphere areas in spring.

The event was much more than a day outdoors: it was a full-circle exploration of nature through the Enviroschools Action Learning Cycle. This framework guided each school as they investigated a specific area of biodiversity—birdlife, insects, native plants, or mokomoko (lizards). From identifying What lives at your school? to imagining What could be? students developed plans to foster richer ecosystems in their school grounds, taking meaningful steps towards protecting them. Their imaginative solutions included planting natives to invite birds, creating bug habitats, and predator trapping to protect vulnerable species.

Armed with curiosity and the iNaturalist app, and led by a phenomenal team of experts, ākonga identified and recorded the species they encountered. Then, back at home base, creativity flourished. Some ākonga built a colourful collage of Tomahawk Lagoon, others sketched tidepool creatures or crafted posters to inspire environmental care. Those with a poetic spark joined City of Literature South D Poet Lorikeet Jenny Powell in creating original poems inspired by the day—weaving their sensory memories into words and celebrating everything from the salty breeze to the crashing waves and the tiniest insect wings. Their first challenge? Recall one sensory moment from the day and write it in a way others could feel too. From this, a spontaneous group poem emerged—layered with sound, smell, touch, and sight. Next, students wrote their own Bioblitz poems, combining observation with imagination and insight. Each poem wove together something they saw and something they learned—fostering not only artistic expression but also environmental understanding.

Thanks to our creative Marketing and Design colleagues, we were thrilled to capture this special day in a vibrantly designed poetry book. The cover features the collage created by ākonga with artist Pam McKinlay, and the endpapers showcase student drawings inspired by the ecosystems. With action photographs throughout to complement the poems, every page is testament to how creativity, science, and sustainability can intertwine in these powerful student voices.

The book was published as part of the Ōtepoti UNESCO City of Literature’s 10th Anniversary legacy series, and has been distributed to all the ākonga, schools, and contributors involved in this special day.