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Final Kaimahi Hui
Final Kaimahi Hui
On 25th November, the Mātaki Marangai project had a hui to wrap up the project and celebrate everyone's mahi! Most of the kaimahi were in attendance, including ākonga from Uawa, Ruatoria and Tokomaru Akau. A few other rangatahi that were involved in the kaupapa joined.
We discussed what we'd found from the data, including the below case studies, and why this kind of mahi is important. There was a kōrero about the maramataka for Tairāwhiti, and whether students thought the maramataka matched their observations.
We then finished up with fish and chips on the beach. Ka pai!
The rainfall record at Ngata Memorial College, Ruatoria. The kura had 5 days with rainfall equal/greater than 100mm, the threshold at which MetService puts out a weather warning.
Total rainfall for the project for different kura, with red stars denoting stations that had periods where data was missing.
Creating Rainfall Records
Creating Rainfall Records
How exactly have we been using the Mātaki Marangai rain gauge data?
Firstly, it's really useful to see the variability of rainfall in the region, caused by the topography and the coastlines in Tairāwhiti. See the August 2024 case study below for an example of very different rainfall quantities in locations close to one another.
We're also interested in how the automatic weather stations and rain gauge readings can be used to improve rainfall records from weather models. We used some statistical methods to combine weather model data with the Mātaki Marangai data. Take a look at the pānui/flyer on the left for more information.
Having accurate rainfall records is really important for a number of reasons. It can influence local decision making, such as infrastructure requirements and emergency planning. We can also compare rainfall records to weather forecasts to see if the weather forecasts would have predicted the rain correctly. If not, we need to figure out what is wrong with the model and improve it!
August 2024 Case Study
August 2024 Case Study
On the right is a radar image from 31 August 2024, showing a band of rain coming across from the Bay of Plenty. The rainfall quantities are read from the weather stations at the schools involved with the Mātaki Marangai project, and are shown on the graph below.
Makarika recorded more rain this day than other schools in the area and we can see the band of rain didn’t get much further north!
Taonga Tuturu only recorded 5mm this day, even though it looks like a lot of rain is approaching Tokomaru Bay. The rain is likely being blocked by the hills before reaching Tokomaru Bay. Hatea-a-Rangi was missing data on this day.
This storm shows the importance of localised rainfall measurements, as nearby locations such as Makarika and Ruatoria can experience very different weather!
STEM Careers Event August 2024
STEM Careers Event August 2024
On 19 August 2024, the Mātaki Marangai project team held a 1-day STEM Careers event in Gisborne.
Ākonga from Gisborne Boys’ High, Lytton High, Campion College, Ngata Memorial College, Tolaga Bay Area School, Hatea-a-rangi School and Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Taonga Tuturu ki Tokomaru attended the event. The students from across Tairāwhiti came together at the Mātai Medical Research Institute to hear from five local speakers, who shared their experience and journey from high school to where they are in their STEM career today.
We'd like to thank Mātai Medical Research Institute for hosting the event, and to our speakers: educationist Dr Wayne Ngata, StardustME co-founder Stu Potter, marine biologist Te Aomihia Walker, Rocket Lab launch technician Adam Bartlett, and Mātai Research Institute chief executive and medical physicist Samantha Holdsworth. After hearing from our speakers, everyone tucked into a delicious lunch from Puku Ora, and enjoyed a tour around the Mātai Medical Research Institute.
Read more about the event and what the students thought in The Gisborne Herald's article here.
June Storm
June Storm
A large storm crossed Tairāwhiti on the 23rd June, with a front and widespread rain in northwest winds. Then an area of low pressure crossed with winds changing to easterly from the sea and more widespread rain over the following days. Below are some of the observations of the storm from the Mātaki Marangai project.
The biggest rain event of the project so far occured between 23-26th June. Hatea-a-Rangi saw 164mm of rainfall in just 24 hours, according to the weather station at the kura!
The rain gauges monitored by ākonga told a similar story, with a rain gauge in Tokomaru Bay measuring 180mm. The comments by the rangatahi tell of fallen trees and interruptions to electricity supply.
Kia ora Mātaki Marangai!
Kia ora Mātaki Marangai!
In March 2024, the project team made our first visits to kura in Tairāwhiti to introduce the Mātaki Marangai kaupapa (see here to learn more!) and entice ākonga to get involved.
We set up automatic weather stations at 8 kura: Ngata Memorial College, Te Waiū, Hiruharama, Mangatuna, Hatea-a-Rangi, Taonga Tuturu, and Tolaga Bay Area School.
The picture to the left shows the difference in weather stations on MetService's maps. Take a look here to see the weather stations live in action!
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