Student Affairs Update
The past two weeks in New Zealand have flown by as we have been busy ever since the students stepped off the plane. We have been based at Huia Bay, just west of Auckland in the Waitakere Ranges, which is made up of beautiful forests and bays. The students immediately enjoyed walking along the rocky beach and taking advantage of the walking tracks around the site. After we oriented them to the location, we had to hit the ground running with background lectures so that we could get out into the field. The first few days were filled with lectures from each faculty in the morning, followed by botanical walks, visitor center visits, and museums in the afternoon. Each night, we have had a group of locals help us cook dinner, which has been both delicious as well as very informative as they are truly walking encyclopedias of the area. On the fourth day, we headed up North of Auckland to spend a few days learning about and living in the Maori culture. The Prime family welcomed us to their Marae with songs and words of welcome. Over the next four days, we learned all about Maori ancestors, local bush foods, how to survive in the bush, and much more. It was an enjoyable and unique experience for all to learn a lot as well as share with the Primes and their extended family. We headed back down to Auckland afterwards, and the students have been working on their New Zealand side of their comparison research papers. Just yesterday, we helped ARK in the Park, a community run conservation organization, with a tree planting followed by a barbecue. We have learned that the Kiwis love to eat! It was great to plant some trees; some even planted the iconic Kauri tree, which will grow over the next few hundred years. We are off to Australia soon, which will be quite a bit warmer with more fauna diversity.
-Lizzie Rosenberger, Student Affairs Manager

Student Reflections
The three words that I would use to describe New Zealand are cold, wet, and beautiful. Our first day at the Kiwanis camp was filled with breathtaking mountain views, shivering bodies, and the indecisive rain clouds that fill the sky. Despite the weather, the warmth of the instructors and students was a cheerful beginning to our adventure. Our instructors explained that we would compare and contrast New Zealand and Australia’s ecology. After several days of informative classroom lectures, we began venturing through the countryside. The highlight of our excursion was easily our four day stay at a Maori Marae where the Prime family very graciously opened up their personal Marae to our group. During our stay we had hands-on experience with modern Maori people. Between our jaunty hike through the Prime family land and an informative question and answer session with Kevin Prime (the oldest male of the Prime family), we were able to learn about the lives of these historically significant people. 

In addition to that trip, we enjoyed multiple field lectures to different conservatories. As a bird-lover, I was extremely excited to visit a bird conservation center and the bird sanctuary of Tiritiri Mantangi. The conservation center was exciting because we were able to see birds that had been rescued, rehabilitated, and given another chance in the world. The tiny, secluded bird sanctuary of Tiritiri Mantangi was delightful thanks to its well-developed bird and plant population as well as its quirky but knowledgeable tour guides. 
-Hannah Addison, Albright College

After a long plane ride, we arrived in New Zealand and were driven to Kiwanas Camp where we stayed for the majority of our trip. The camp overlooked Huia Bay, providing is with a beautiful view to wake up to each morning, complete with clear waters and surrounding hills. For the first few days, we had classroom lectures with our three teachers; afterwards, we were always in the field. We got to visit so many interesting places and learn New Zealand’s environment and history. 

For one of our trips, we went to the Auckland War Memorial Museum. There were relics from many different Polynesian groups and beautiful carvings from the Maori (the native people of New Zealand). At the museum, we watched a Maori show in which they sang, danced, and performed the Haka, their war dance. Later on, we had the opportunity to stay with a family of Maoris for four days. It was an amazing life experience and I learned so much about their culture and values. The most interesting part was getting to actually live amongst their family; their welcoming nature made us want to stay. 

Besides all the spectacular hikes we went on, we had a really fascinating trip to the bird sanctuary island of Tiritiri Matangi. We saw endangered species and heard the beautiful songs of bellbirds and tuis as we climbed to the top of the island where there was a breathtaking 360° view. 

We have had a jam-packed two weeks while in New Zealand. We picked the students up at the airport and went straight into lectures (three lectures per day from each of the different courses so that we could increase their knowledge base for the field lectures).
-Marissa Nadeau, University of Virginia

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