Year 9 students were all given the opportunity to dive into the Hauraki Gulf and Northland waters and to soar with the birds above it, all while sitting in the classroom.

Blake NZ VR is a partnership with New Zealand Geographic, which uses virtual reality videos to connect thousands of young people with our marine environment and they visited OHS this week.

Students donned headsets to explore the rich and beautiful ocean around the Poor Knight Islands and the marine reserve of Goat Island, located north of Auckland. Here the crystal clear ocean was teeming with fish of different varieties and sizes, seaweed; home, shelter and food for many species was thriving and amazing coloured sponges were in abundance. Students gasped and in some cases squealed as they came up close to prowling sharks and huge stingrays gliding silently around them.

In stark contrast, the sea in the inner Hauraki Gulf appeared murky and the colours muted. Many varieties of the sponges and seaweed were gone, the fish were sparse and the Kina prolific in the absence of the Snapper, the fish that in a healthy ecosystem would be eating them.

Students were able to see with their own eyes, the toll that pollution and overfishing are having on our marine environment. They explored the concept of Kaitiakitanga; the guardianship of our environment. Our ocean is so important to all of our futures. Students discussed all the things that we could do to protect our oceans, so that we can all enjoy them now and in the future.

Thank you to the educators from Blake NZ. Students enjoyed this experience tremendously as was evidenced by the gasps of delight as they got up close and personal with the sharks, stingrays and creatures of the sea. Importantly students now have an understanding of the damage that is being done to our oceans and what we can all do to help.