Soils on the web: Te Ara

David J. Lowe

Department of Earth and Ocean Sciences, University of Waikato, Hamilton (d.lowe@waikato.ac.nz)

Simon Nathan

Science Editor, Te Ara, Ministry for Culture and Heritage, Wellington (Simon.Nathan@mch.govt.nz)

Te Ara or “the pathway” is the new online Encyclopaedia of New Zealand, the world’s first purpose-written online encyclopaedia. The general site address is www.teara.govt.nz. Te Ara is published by the Ministry for Culture and Heritage with the general editor being eminent social historian Jock Phillips, appointed in May 2002. Work began on the project in July 2002 and so far three of nine broad themes have been published: “New Zealanders” (launched 8 February 2005), “Earth Sea and Sky” (12 June 2006), and “The Bush” (24 September 2007). Photographs, sounds, moving images, documents, graphs and maps are combined with text. Links provide pathways to the digital collections of libraries, archives and museums around the country. Te Ara allows for the inclusion of community contributions such as photographs, oral histories, or updates of information.

Te Ara is first New Zealand government-sponsored encyclopaedia since the three-volume An Encyclopedia of New Zealand (edited by A.H. McLintock) was published in 1966. At the planning stage it was decided to design it specifically for the internet because that is where many people now seek information. Although other encyclopaedias are available on the internet, they are almost all printed versions that have been digitized. That Te Ara has been designed for the internet offers many advantages:

- Information can be corrected or updated

- Electronic files such as video clips can be included

- It is freely available anywhere in the world

- Many more illustrations can be used than in a print version

- Links to other websites can be incorporated

Te Ara is a unique, authoritative source of information on New Zealand topics. Articles are prepared by or in conjunction with subject specialists and then reviewed and edited. All the entries with substantial Maori content have been translated into Maori. Te Ara is immediately accessible at school, in the work place, in public libraries, or at home. Although it works best with broadband, it is designed to be used with slower dial-up connections. Abundant illustrations and video clips make it an attractive site to view. Currently the site receives over 6,000 visitors a day.

Information in Te Ara is layered to help make it accessible to a wide range of people. Language in the text is aimed at the average newspaper reader, avoiding technical jargon as far as possible. Every article has a “Short Story” – a one-page summary written in simple English for younger children or those whose first language is not English. Browsers can read the text and open up accompanying illustrations as they go, or work through all the illustrations in a separate gallery. Every page, or an entire article, is easily downloaded in a printable format. For those who want more information, each article has a “Further Sources” section, with links to up to half-a-dozen relevant websites, as well as books. Parts of Te Ara are being published in book form, for example “Maori Peoples of New Zealand” was published in 2006 and “Living on the Edge: Natural Hazards in New Zealand” is being published in November this year by David Bateman Ltd in association with the Ministry for Culture and Heritage.

The latest theme includes articles on soil science by Allan Hewitt and Phil Tonkin. Allan provides an overview entitled “Soils” under the broad heading “Landscapes” (Hewitt 2007). Phil’s history of soil science in New Zealand (a longer version appeared in two earlier issues of NZ Soil News this year) is summarised in “Soil Investigations” under the heading “Understanding the Natural World” (Tonkin 2007) (e.g. see Fig. 1).  A fascinating personal account of Charles Wright’s early days as a pedologist/ecologist in New Zealand 1936-1958 is documented on a PDF link with the latter article.

Many other profusely illustrated and wide-ranging articles relevant to geosciences are available in “The Bush” such as wetlands, lakes, geomorphology, and perceptions of landscapes. Similarly, the theme “Earth, Sea and Sky” includes aspects of the marine realm, natural resources, and the shaping forces such as geology and climate and associated natural hazards and disasters. The theme “New Zealanders” comprises articles on Maori tribes and later immigrant groups who settled in New Zealand. It also includes articles such as Pacific migration, canoe navigation, and the timing of initial Polynesian settlement. There are also sections in Te Ara entitled “New Zealand in Brief”, “New Zealand Peoples”, and “Places”, the last being a series of articles on 22 regions in New Zealand (such as Bay of Plenty or Canterbury), of which seven are now available.

Those who have prepared articles for Te Ara will attest to the fact that they are deceptively difficult to write and illustrate within strict word limits and appropriate levels of understanding. For example, in writing the entry on “Volcanoes” under “Natural Hazards and Disasters”, Smith et al. (2006), commissioned to write 3000 words, submitted an article of about 14,500 words together with more than 120 illustrations. The entry was subsequently edited down to about 4,500 words and 55 illustrations.

A search box at the top right of every page searches Te Ara (including images and captions) and the 1966 encyclopaedia (which has been digitised) for information on any topic. Alternatively, readers can browse the encyclopaedia by scrolling through a series of topics, themes, or a comprehensive ‘keyword’ listing under “Te Ara A-Z”. Simon has prepared a ‘one-stop-shop’ listing of all the geoscience topics now available on Te Ara – see Table 1. Both Simon and David have a version of this table with ‘live’ links that take you directly to each of the sites simply by holding ‘control’ and clicking the mouse – please email us if you would like a copy of that file.

References

Hewitt, A.E. 2007. ‘Soils’, Te Ara − the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, updated 21-Sep-2007

URL: http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/TheBush/Landscapes/Soils/en

Smith, R.T.; Lowe, D.J.; Wright, I.C. 2006. ‘Volcanoes’, Te Ara − The Encyclopedia of New Zealand, updated 21-Sep-2007. New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage, Wellington. URL:

http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/EarthSeaAndSky/NaturalHazardsAndDisasters/Volcanoes/en

Tonkin, P.J. 2007. ‘Soil investigation’, Te Ara − the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, updated 21-Sep-2007. URL: http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/TheBush/UnderstandingTheNaturalWorld/SoilInvestigation/en