Pair hatched film-entry plan during research on paua

Olivia Matthews accepts the Ministry of Youth Development Community Participation award. Photo / Supplied

Two Kaitaia teens are doing their bit to fight paua poaching in Northland through film.

Olivia Matthews, 16 and Emma Dolfing, 16, were recognised at the Outlook for Someday film awards.

The Kaitaia College pair won the Ministry of Youth Development Community Participation award for their short film Paua Sustainability in Tauroa.

The students thought of the idea for the film during their biology class, where they were tasked with reproducing paua in a simulated environment over time.

The project sparked an interest for creating a sustainable environment for the shellfish and, after discussing the film with their teacher, they began documenting their work.

The making of the film involved "a lot of overtime, and meeting deadlines meant a bit of help from others", Olivia said.

Her motive behind the project was to raise awareness about paua poaching in the area and she hopes to increase the stocks of paua throughout New Zealand.

She received a phone call a week before the awards confirming she had won the Community Participation award.

"I was surprised to win, but I was proud of myself and glad that I achieved what I wanted with the film,"she said.

Olivia represented her team at the Outlook for Someday prize-giving on November 24, where she gave her acceptance speech thanking the people around her for the help and support that she received during the film-making process.

As for the future, Olivia says that she is still really interested in the sustainability of paua and wants to learn more on the topic.

She also says she will use her film success as motivation to delve further into the film-making business to keep on documenting marine life in the Far North.

-Watch Olivia and Emma's film at http://www.theoutlookforsomeday.net/winning-films/