Knitting our environment on the beach

Knitting our environment on the beach! By Sue Elliot

Designed by the community, knitters make pieces interpreting local environmental data, for example, the swimmability of Pt Chev Beach, Te Auaunga water
quality, rats trapped in Owairaka, trees planted and trees lost in the area, comparative daily summer temperatures measured 20 years apart. A workshop of interested people, including scientists and statisticians was held in to brainstorm possible data and data sources which can be converted into simple charts and written
instructions. These were provided to participants during workshops which span several hours with participants being able to drop in at any time. Also open to anyone in the community who might want to have a go and learn to knit. A knitted piece showing the daily swimmability of the beach and local temperature over the summer will be exhibited. A second workshops also planned for where all the pieces made to date will be displayed and collected
prior to final exhibit at the local library. Following this, the pieces are returned to the makers so that they can share them and talk about them with others.