Kakanui School pupils get crafty with kelp

Artist Judith Lofley (The Kelpery) is on a mission to promote kelp awareness through educational school workshops with curriculum-based learning experiences including kelp craft and ecosystems.

Lofley, originally from the Kapiti Coast, runs The Kelpery in Oamaru, which uses beach-cast kelp to mould, shape, weave or knit objects but she also believes kelp could be a solution to coastal erosion.

Kelp was the fastest-growing plant on the planet, that could grow up to half a metre day which allowed it to sequester carbon at a faster rate than many terrestrial forests, Lofley said.

"It makes sense when you also see what you can do with it to shield and protect the things around it, which is what it does.

"We could be kelp farming on the northern side of Holmes Wharf where there is both bull kelp and giant kelp growing there in clumps.

"The best kelp on the planet is in Waitaki because of the sub-antarctic current that runs beside the Otago coast which also combines with the subtropical, or the Tasman, current that runs beside the East Coast and then down the South and beside the sub-Antarctic.

"It’s high in nutrients and on a cold and rocky coast, you don’t get better than this anywhere," Lofley said.

Year 1-8 pupils in Kakanui recently got to view some of the kelp craft Lofley has made and had opportunities to craft and skewer wet kelp into various shapes.

"The tamariki have made objects that include necklaces, bowls, wind chimes, belt and buckle, scarecrow, saddle, and a variety of curious objects.

"Sometimes tamariki are cautious because of the smell and the goopiness of the algate but it doesn’t take long for everyone to get messy and make something wonderful, including kaiako (teachers)," she said.

The workshops are made possible by the Creative Communities Fund through the Waitaki District Council, and funded by Creative NZ and the Creative Communities Scheme.

Workshops at Holmes Kindergarten and Kakanui School have taken place with further sessions throughout October and November at Barnardos and Edna McCulloch Kindergartens, Pembroke, Papakaio and Weston Schools.

Kakanui School teacher Sharon Walsh-Grieve said the children really enjoyed the unique experience of the workshop.

Lofley, whose kelp exhibition is on at the Forrester Gallery, says the workshops have been "brilliant".

The sessions range from 90 minutes to two hours and include crafting with kelp and learning about kelp forests, the coastal marine environment, the importance of kelp to planet health including erosion and flood prevention, and carbon sequestration — the process of capturing and storing atmospheric carbon dioxide to reduce global climate change.

As part of the kelp awareness campaign Lofley said Prof Chris Hepburn from the University of Otago’s department of marine science will hold a talk about local kelp at the Oamaru Public Library on October 23.