Field Camp (Week 4)

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Volcanic features dominate the landscape and water scours the hillsides in and around Rapaki. We spent the fourth week of field camp focusing on two themes, the implementation of matauranga maori and field mapping volcanic deposits. 

On day one we all visited the iwi community that we have been working closely with over this past semester. Ngati Wheke is the iwi that resides in and around Rapaki and they have been doing incredible work focusing on environmental restoration. The community is based within a small bay surrounding Lyttelton Harbour; the Port Hill hills rise above the buildings to the north. The hills all around Lyttelton Harbour were deforested decades ago and now extremely high rates of sedimentation in the harbor destroy mahinga kai (first foods) populations and threaten the health of the ecosystems in the area. 

Lyttelton Harbour

We began all sitting around a little conference table, cups of coffee in hand and a view through sliding glass doors over the harbor. Dan Hikuroa joined us and presented his work and ideas about the mauri model. The mauri of a thing is best translated to mean lifeforce. For example, the mauri of an ecosystem can be explained as how close to pristine or flourishing the system is. This model takes into account not only mauri but it also looks at every aspect of the health of an environment as viewed through the eyes of the community and its members.  

 

dykes puzzle outcrop

Day two began back at the Marae where we spent a bit of time organizing and preparing for a day of field geology. In the late morning we made our way up to Sign of the Kiwi Cafe where I ordered an affogato to consume while drenched in sunlight and donning my most fabulous high-vis. We spent the rest of the day discussing volcanic deposits, ending the day at a roadside outcrop puzzle. The activity began with sketching the outcrop, then we each individually analyzed the units present, then we gathered pXRF data about the levels of silica, iron and potassium within each individual unit. Each of us wrote a report discussing the relationships between the units including discussion of their emplacement order and viscosity.

lunch views

On day three the four geologists split off from the environmental science group to field map at the top of the drainage. The sun came out in the morning, promising a beautiful field day and we all slapped on sunscreen and our favorite field hats. This mapping exercise was to be done individually, each of us prepared with a hand lens, notebook, and sledge hammer; we started to crisscross the grassy landscape. I began by walking the road through the mapping area, along the way I would stop periodically to do structure, texture, composition analysis and take photographs. At noon I plopped down (slowly) onto a basaltic A’a lava flow to eat my lunch and gaze over the city of Christchurch. I had a sandwich, apple, peanut butter and tim tams (the best biscuit ever invented). I also had a view of the ocean, the southern alps, and behind me, Lyttelton Harbour.

Day four – Thanksgiving! We gathered early in the morning at the Marae to help prepare a meal to share with the community. The process actually began the day before with digging a huge pit in the ground and then creating a pile of delicately balanced pieces of wood and volcanic rocks. On this morning the fire was lit, the idea is that the rocks get heated up and fall in the pit, the food then is set on top of the hot rocks and the entire pit is filled in with dirt again; the food all covered in a heaping mound of soil. In the early afternoon everyone began to gather and we uncovered the steaming pile carrying everything into the kitchen to do the final preparations. When every table was set and all the food ready to eat, we sang. The community of elders, along with kids and the Frontiers Abroad group all sang songs in Te Reo. Then we ate the meats and potatoes and kumara, all cooked by rocks.

the food

On Friday, day five, the geology group returned to our mapping area to put the finishing touches on our geologic maps. I got to hike around and look at rocks for hours tracking down contacts and wrangling dykes. On the way home after a long day of mapping we stopped at the best gelato shop in Christchurch to celebrate the week.

happy mapper

aesthetic – with welded scoria

 

 

Field Camp (Week 3)

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The semester at UC is now over! I just finished all of my final exams and now have just 3 weeks of field camp until my study abroad experience comes to an end. We just got back from the first week (third week in total) of field camp. 

Let me begin with the first instructions that we received. Before we left from Christchurch our professors had suggested that we all bring with us two items – a head torch and wetsuit. This was in addition to the general packing list that always includes all the basics of sleeping bag, hiking boots, field notebook, daypack, and rain layers. 

The destination for the week would be Arthur’s Pass, an hour and a half drive to the west out of the city of Christchurch. The area is well known for its climbing, skiing fields, backpacking and mountaineering options. We went to map the area and study the different aspects of the geology and biology in the region. 

Cass Field Station

On day one, we drove to Cave Stream Scenic Reserve and became acquainted with our geologic units. This included in depth observations and notetaking (location, structure, texture, composition, interpretation!). This is also when the pre-trip instructions began to make sense, after a long day of working in the sun on the limestone outcrops we all changed into wetsuits and donned head torches. The limestone unit we would spend the rest of the week mapping (the Thomas formation) was relatively thin and has undergone many episodes of deformation including some extreme thrust faulting; limestone is susceptible to chemical weathering and dissolves quicker than surrounding rock when in contact with water. Cave stream cuts through the Thomas formation in a location where the bedding has been tilted such that the bedforms intersect the topography and hydrology of the river to create a cave stream a few hundred meters long that is hikeable/swimmable.

 

chasing rocks up rivers

 

 

At the end of day one we returned to the field station. The Cass Field Station is a special place, my favorite field station thus far. Located in and amongst the towering snow capped peaks with a lake just a kilometer hike   away. A covered porch looks out to the north with sweeping views of the mountains. I sat on this porch each morning with my coffee and a book. In the evenings after long field days I would run around barefoot as orange blanketed the skies, in the background our professor played bluegrass music on the mandolin.

the view from the porch

The next day we covered lots of ground. We spent the sunny day running up each of the stream valleys in the geologic mapping area carefully measuring strikes and dips as well as noting textural differences and places where contacts were visible and identifiable. On day three we ran the hills in the mapping area making observations of the slope angles and differing resistance between rock types, gathering ever more strike and dip measurements. At the end of the day, on the drive back to the field station, we all jumped into a cold lake to swim and wash off the layers of sweat and sunscreen. On day four it rained and we stayed inside to drink tea and hot cocoa – and finish the mapping assignment, and create a cross section and stratigraphic column.

focused geologists – field mapping

My favorite things to do in Christchurch

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Christchurch, NZ is located on the South Island of New Zealand on the east coast. The town is bordered on the east by the ocean and to the west by the Southern Alps. The joke here is that people move to Christchurch to be able to escape and leave Christchurch, which I have found only partially true. There are great outdoor recreation opportunities in every direction but there are also so many interesting places to explore in the town. I am approaching the end of my time studying at the University of Canterbury so I have compiled a list of all of my favorite spots in Christchurch for future students or anyone interested in traveling here! In the next post I will explain all of my favorite places just outside of the city to go to for outdoor activities. 

Riccarton House and Bush

Riccarton House is a beautiful older-style building with a small cafe. Each Saturday is the Riccarton farmers markets along the path outside of the cafe. The market has everything from hot spiced chai to steak and cheese pies (a local favorite!) and then also cheeses, meats, seasonal produce and flowers. Just a few steps behind the house is Riccarton Bush, a plot of land with native trees and plants that tower over the surrounding city-scape. The forest is surrounded by pest-free fencing that keeps native species protected from possums, rats, and stoats. I love to run to Riccarton Bush (2.0 km from my apartment) and then walk or run the trails which are just a few km long, and then run home. 

chai latte at the Saturday market

 

Port Hills and Sign of the Kiwi 

The Port Hills border the town of Christchurch to the south and offer incredible hiking, mountain biking, and rock climbing. There is a gondola that runs from the city to the top of the hills and an adventure bike course with lifts as well. The sign of the Kiwi Cafe sits atop the hills and is a beautiful place to get coffee before your hike. 

sunny day for a hike in the Port Hills

Picnic in Ilam Gardens

Just a one-minute walk from my apartment door are beautiful gardens. A little river runs through the gardens and there are many little bridges along the trails. On sunny afternoons I enjoy packing up some reading material, snacks, and a blanket and sitting in the sun surrounded by flowers. 

 

New Brighton and Sumner Beaches 

There are two main beaches, New Brighton is closer to the city center and has a pier, Sumner is just 10 minutes further south and has cute shops and cafes along the boardwalk. Both beaches are great surfing beaches especially for learners, with soft sand and generally smaller waves. Also both beaches are accessible by bus! You can catch the bus outside of the apartments and go straight to either beach, the ride is about an hour or an hour or just over an hour to get to Sumner. 

chilly surf day with the girls

Lyttelton

Just over the Port Hills, or through a very long tunnel, is the little port town of Lyttelton. Lyttleton has some very aesthetically pleasing streets. There are cute cafes and shops as well as a ferry that goes across the ocean inlet to the town of Diamond Harbour. This is a great place to explore on a sunny Sunday afternoon, or check out the Saturday market in the morning. 

Diamond Harbour hike

Live music 

Christchurch has an incredible live music scene and you can almost always find a little bar or venue showcasing music of all genres. The UC Students Association also brings concerts to the campus regularly and throughout the semester you can buy tickets to concerts on campus. 

 

Study in a coffee shop 

Rainy days in Christchurch call for a cafe with windows overlooking crowded city streets, or the ocean, and a steaming flat white in a little blue or red or green mug.

one coffee, two coffee

red coffee

blue coffee

Kaikōura

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Spring break in New Zealand began with windows rolled down and sunkissed skin; I jumped into the backseat of a tiny periwinkle blue car with three surfboards strapped on top, four of my best friends, and five over-packed backpacks. We sang songs and drove up the coast for two hours to the tiny coastal community of Kaikōura. 

We arrived just before sunset and set up two small tents, making our camp along the beach. The beach here was made of dark gray and black cobblestone, the water the brightest blue, and the sky a salmon pink. Just to the north of our camp you could look along the coast and see a mountain range of snow capped peaks. Ki uta ki tai is the Te Reo Māori term that translates to ‘from the mountains to the tide,’ but is an all-encompassing concept for sustainability. Ki uta ki tai builds the foundations for sustainability and restoration work, it shapes policy here in Aotearoa and provides a framework for environmental stewardship. In my classes in the U.S. I had heard of this concept as ‘from source to sink.’ Somehow the new Te Reo term captured the breadth and depth that I felt I had been absent from my prior environmental studies conversations. The sun went down over the mountains and I fell asleep to the sounds of waves crashing on the shore. 

The next afternoon, we made our way to the center of town, to the marae that sat on top of a hill overlooking the ocean. My friends and I were meeting up with our Science, Māori, and Indigenous Knowledge class to stay for three days in this special place. 

Sitting sleepily in the wharenui after a long day of hiking, exploring, and meeting new friends, Brett Cowan stood and began to talk to our class. Brett spoke in Te Reo Māori, which I unfortunately didn’t understand much of but his song captured my attention in how the elements felt tied to a culture much older than any modern day music. Brett told us all of the stories behind each of the carvings and panels throughout the room, the source of the journey, the source of the song. Ki uta ki tai, the mountains and the sea. The carving and art each were symbolic of a story and art style from iwi up and down the west coast and by the end of the talk I was laying on my back eyes dancing across the ceiling from one sparkling pāua shell to the next. Each story has an origin in ancestry and are all tied to locations in Aotearoa. When I do my geologic work I want to remember those who have inhabited a location and taken care of it for future generations. Brett, while in the wharenui, made sure to incorporate kaitiakitanga through oral traditional storytelling; though we saw that as a member of the iwi he does this through multitudes of other acts as well. 

The next day, at the place where the land meets the sea sat a small pink dwelling. Ann McCaw told us about the history of whaling in the bay. Ann spoke of the whaling industry through the lens of the Fyffe family and she also touched a bit on the impacts that hit the indigenous community. Basically, the entire bay where whaling occurred was turned into a putrid dump of whale carcasses, each whale that was poached out off shore was pulled in to land, the blubber cut out and basically the entire rest of the whale body left to rot. The stories say that the sea was literally rotting and turning the environment surrounding the bay into a dead zone. Maintaining a healthy chemistry of the ocean can mean life or death of an entire community and ecosystem. Ann was not Maori but she was an ally of the iwi and spoke on behalf of the history of the area, telling stories that directly affected the iwi and pertain to Kaikōura as a landscape and living system.

Whale watching

I awoke before sunrise and jumped into the frigid water, streaks of orange sunlight made the entire ocean sparkle and the sky was a brilliant pink – I plunged under the waves and popped up, opening my eyes to see the alpine glow on Tapuae-o-uenuku. Ki uta ki tai. The entire system is connected and I have a responsibility to the land, to the sea, to ensure the next generation can swim where I swim and eat what I eat, that the beauty of a place never be diminished by my presence, and this concept is what our trip revolved around – kaitiakitanga.

Research Project

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The misty fog clung to my eyelashes and the wind whipped my cheeks, adrenaline was rushing through my body as I flew through the canopy of brilliant green, a native New Zealand forest. Once I landed on the platform the adrenaline dissipated and was replaced by a sense of awe as I noticed the bird songs filling the air; flickers of bird wings danced in my peripheral vision. The birds were hopping from tree to tree; some following us, seemingly just as curious about us as we were about them.

Along the tour the guides would identify trees – like the Kahikatea and Rimu – and other plants – the tree fern and vines and many mushrooms all by name. We saw a fantail – pīwakawaka – bird and a teeny tiny black and white bird called a tomtit. We named this adorable little tomtit Toby, he stayed with us for a portion of the forest hike.  

Scientific research is a central aspect of the Frontiers Abroad (FA) program and one of the many reasons why I chose to study abroad in New Zealand with FA. As a part of FA, I am enrolled in a semester-long research course. This class focuses on research methods and allows students the time and opportunity to pick a project and then to collect data, present a poster, and turn in a final research paper. The zipline tour that I did in my first week of field camp established the foundation for my semester-long research in experiential education. 

I have included this short introduction as some background to my research for the GEOL 356: Field Focused Research Methods class.

 “As climate change puts stress on our world and on future generations it will be essential for education techniques to advance while addressing real world problems thus allowing students optimal opportunities to gain knowledge and experience. Engaging students with virtual education will bridge learning gaps when in person delivery of education is not available nor accessible. The foundation for this study is to explore and measure how students engage with flow (Csikszentmihalyi, 1975) in online platforms. Flow is a state of immersion with critically precise levels of creativity and difficulty. Four predominant pedagogies will be studied and linked during this research: online learning, experiential learning, flow state, and sustainability. The end goal, through a collaboration with Rotorua Canopy Zipline tours and the University of Canterbury, is to produce an all-encompassing virtual outdoor education experience.”

The original goal for this project was to build an online version of the Canopy Zipline tour as an accessible alternative for students all over the world. Research can sometimes be a flexible practice and since beginning my project I have switched tracks slightly. My research goal now will primarily consist of constructing the curriculum for the optimal online Canopy Tours Zipline learning experience. 

Field Camp (Week 2)

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Over the holiday break (the NZ equivalent of Spring Break), I spent one week in Westport at the UC Field Station studying the geology of the west coast!

Field Sketch at Doctor’s Cove

On Sunday morning at 8am, I rolled my travel suitcase to the science building, carrying a sleeping bag in hand and a field backpack full of notebooks, snacks, and jackets. I joined up with a class of about 30 students along with three TA’s, two cooks, and one professor. We jumped into 4 vans and started the 5 hour drive across the island. 

The South Island of New Zealand is split into 7 terrane provinces and is cut by the Alpine Fault, which runs from the south to the north end of the island. Along our drive we made a few stops to identify rock types and river terraces as well as to calculate fault movement based on field observations. We arrived in the small outdoorsy and agricultural community of Westport in the evening, our field station was situated a few blocks walk from downtown. I claimed a bottom bunk in a room of four girls, all of us from the United States. We were the only Americans on the trip so I felt completely immersed in the New Zealand culture and surrounded by NZ geologists.

Sunset from the sea cliffs

We spent long sunny days in the field. I would set my alarm for 6:45am and get ready, make a boxed lunch and eat breakfast before 8 am; which is when we needed to be ready to go in the vans. The first two days we traveled along the coast working on many different field skills – mostly identification and interpretation of igneous textures and structures, and we also did a stereonet exercise. Our big stereonet exercise began with collecting our own bedding and cleavage strike and dip data along a beach outcrop, this took about 5 hours of non-stop measurement and identification in the field; we then took the points back to the field station and plotted them along stereonets and created a cross section of the underground projected bedding planes that running the length of the beach we walked that day. Sunshine and ocean spray sprinkled in my hair.

On a tramp to identify metamorphic structures and textures

Some American friends 🙂

 

After these first two days, we moved up into the mountains overlooking Westport – up to the Denniston Plateau. The road to the top winds up a steep hillside, the road only one lane in many spots because landslides have swept the second lane down the mountain. At our field mapping location on the top there is a carpark, a quarry, two tunnels, and a river with a few small tributaries. My team identified five rock types in the area and named them fun names – Windy Ridge Sedimentary Sequence, Ghost Town Granite, and Moonshine Marsh Mudstone to name a few. We hiked all day, laughed, shared stories, did a ton of orienteering, strike and dip measurements and heroic bush bashing to find bedding contacts. 

The Denniston Plateau and my field map

On Thursday I stayed up until 2am working on my map and geologic history interpretation essay. Friday we spent the day in the field and then turned in our assignments at 9pm… so that we could go down to the beach to celebrate with a bonfire. Under the Southern Cross and an almost full moon we all chatted and laughed as sparks climbed high into the sky. In the city of Westport and on the Denniston Plateau I rediscovered my love for geologic field work and, discovered my connection to a global community of wonderful geoscientists.

Beach bonfire

A day in the life

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What does the average day in Christchurch, at the University of Canterbury, look like? 

Checklist:

-Prepare  for all seasons

-Drink lots of tea (or coffee, or both)

-Wear shorts and a puffy

-Always be keen on/keen to

I wake up at 7:30 or 8 and get out of bed. My room is one of many 5 person apartments, which are part of an apartment complex just across the road from the main University campus. I wash my face, make my bed, get dressed, and then make breakfast. Breakfast here during the week is casual, people generally eat toast or yogurt and fruit, maybe overnight oats. The weekend is the time to cook a yummy brunch with eggs and hash browns and beans, possibly a crumpet or two as well.

I have a physics lecture that I attend at a different time each day. Monday at 11am, Tuesday at 9am, Wednesday at 10 am, and then physics lab at 9am on Thursday; but nothing else in the mornings. I usually do a bit of studying or homework in the mornings when I am not in lecture. On the first floor of the science building is a cafe that serves yummy coffee. I can sit at a table in the sun and enjoy.

Coffee and my field notebook.

I normally go back to my apartment for lunch but if I don’t have the time then there is a food court option under the library that serves $3 fried rice in to-go containers. In the afternoons I might have another lecture or lab, on Thursdays I have a big research meeting. Many afternoons I have free time though. I can explore the campus, go to the city, do a workout, or plan a trip for the next weekend. Sometimes I study with a friend in the afternoon.

 

My favorite study spot on campus is on the 8th floor of the library. This is a silent study space with tables that face the windows, the views look over the entire city of Christchurch and in the evenings I can watch the sunset over the Southern Alps. 

An evening at Hagley Park and the museum in Christchurch.

On Monday night the Frontiers Abroad crew gets together for class. Before we sit down in our classroom we have an hour long Pilates workout that focuses on stretching, breath work, and strengthening. After Pilates we walk to the science building together to work on our research projects and catch up about how we are doing and our wellbeing. 

 

The best way to meet others is through the clubs on campus. On Wednesday night I climb at the campus gym with the climbing club and on Friday we go to Uprising, the bouldering gym in town. I also am a part of the tramping club and snow sports club.

 

The immediate big differences at the UC: the student population is over 15,000. The campus is huge, my walk to physics lecture classes is about 1 kilometer, each way. I see many different faces every day on campus and am only familiar with a few. I have a class with 100 people in it. All the classes are recorded and posted online. Cars drive on the left, you walk on the left too!

 

Field Camp (Week 1)

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I got so caught up in starting classes and meeting a new community that I didn’t have time to post there for a little bit but I want to reflect back on my first week in Aotearoa, New Zealand – week one of field camp!

The first day we hiked up to the Sign of the Kiwi cafe in the Port Hills over Lyttleton and Whakaraupō Harbour. Two geology professors from the University of Canterbury came with the 10 of us students and we worked on building a foundation of the geologic history around Christchurch. We specifically focused on our sketching skills, descriptions of outcrops, and how to formulate interpretations. In addition, we re-visited our orienteering and compass skills. Our first day we also learned about “southerlies,” the cold fronts that blow up from the Antarctic region to New Zealand and can change the weather in a matter of minutes from mild to freezing cold and windy. 

The next day, in the morning we packed into our field backpacks and caught a plane to the North Island to explore Rotorua. While doing field work in Rotorua we stayed in a few little cabins near a lake. The first evening we hiked up a track through a Redwood forest and discussed the impact of European settlement on the forests – redwoods and most pines are not native to New Zealand. As we hiked through the forest the professors chatted with us, talking about and introducing us to everything from Maori culture to forestry practices, the outdoor recreation scene and their life stories; as they say here, we spent much of the time along the hike just yarning. At the end of the hike we got to an overlook with a sweeping view over the town of Rotorua, the steaming hot pools emitting a fog that danced over the city lights. 

Geothermal pool near Rotorua, North Island

The next four days we spent doing outcrop interpretations, visiting geothermal areas (and yes, soaking in a few of these geothermally heated waters), sketching formations, and having lectures on volcanology, geothermal systems, forestry, insects, and pest control. 

One night, we went on a night hike through native bush with an insect expert. Another evening a few of us went down to the lake and hiked along a track, then cut through the bush to a hidden amphitheater where we were surrounded by vertical walls about a meter or two tall. Everyone turned off their headlamps and once our eyes adjusted we were surrounded by glow worms.

Tiny fungi on a tree, captured during a night hike in the native bush.

The final morning in Rotorua we all awoke at 5:45 am, with only the knowledge that we needed to be packed up and in the van before 6:15, the plan for the day was a secret. We sleepily rolled into the van and faded in and out of sleep as we drove through the dark to dawn. After driving for a bit, at sunrise, we arrived at Rotorua Canopy Tours – the surprise was a zipline tour through a section of native bush.

The FA crew 🙂

That afternoon we caught a plane back to Christchurch to settle in for a day before our uni classes started.

The Beginning of New Zealand

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I am finally in New Zealand!

In early July, I packed up my belongings into two suitcases to fly around the world (and flip to the southern hemisphere) eager to explore the wintry mountains of the southern island. I boarded my first plane in Portland, OR and after 32 hours of travel I arrived in Christchurch, New Zealand.

First things first, I got checked into my room and moved into a nice little apartment with four other flat mates. We live just a short 5 minute walk from the campus and have many beautiful parks right nearby. That evening, once everybody on my program had arrived, we enjoyed slices of delicious pizza from a local restaurant and happily were able to finally meet in person. My Frontiers Abroad group is made up of 10 students, all from small liberal arts colleges across the United States.

My room in New Zealand!

Our first full day together in Christchurch we all walked to the farmers market together and then went tramping (hiking) through a grove of native bush (forest). Our professors came with us and began to teach us all about the flora and fauna, native bird population, and the geology/hydrology of the aquifers under the town of Christchurch. After our hike, we went into the city center to explore the museum, we spent hours looking at the exhibits on research in Antarctica, the rock record, and fossils.

After sleeping in a bit, we started our first field day by driving up to the Sign of the Kiwi Café, and getting a warm drink while having a view over Lyttleton harbor from the crater rim of an eroded volcano. We spent the rest of that afternoon hiking around the Port Hills doing field sketches and listening to lectures about the volcanology and local vegetation. We ended the day with dinner and live music at Eruption Brewing, a fitting welcome for a geologist!

A view of Lyttleton Harbor from the crater rim and Port Hills area above Christchurch.