Best for
Ecology, living world, endangered species, and sustainability units where students need more than a decorative “save the animals” activity.
Science • Years 6-10 • Biodiversity and conservation
Biodiversity in Aotearoa
Use this handout to help ākonga understand why Aotearoa has so many unique species, what threatens them, and which responses best show real kaitiakitanga.
Free biodiversity scaffold, premium local-rohe pathway
This resource already gives you the definitions, analysis table, and action response space. Te Wānanga can adapt it around a local ngahere, wetland, dune system, or species-restoration project without losing the scientific and cultural integrity.
- Swap the examples for species from your rohe.
- Create a junior version with more visual prompts.
- Build an extension version focused on restoration planning or species conflict.
Kaiako planning snapshot
- Use length: 40-60 minutes.
- Grouping: Shared reading or pairs, then independent ranking and written reflection.
- Prep: Optional local species image set or news item.
- Teaching move: Keep the difference clear between native, endemic, and introduced species because many students blur those categories.
Resources already provided
- Vocabulary and concept prompts
- Aotearoa species spotlights
- Threat-response comparison table
- Action-ranking and reflection space
- Teacher-only curriculum companion
Everything needed for the comprehension, sorting, and response task is already on this page.
Ngā Whāinga Akoranga / Learning Intentions
- We are learning what biodiversity means in an Aotearoa context.
- We are learning how species, habitats, and threats are connected.
- We are learning to judge which responses are most likely to protect living systems.
Paearu Angitu / Success Criteria
- I can explain the difference between native, endemic, and introduced.
- I can identify at least one real threat to biodiversity.
- I can justify a response using science and kaitiakitanga language.
Curriculum integration / Te Mātaiaho alignment
Use the companion page to connect this resource to ecology, human impact, and local environmental action. It is strongest when students move from naming species to tracing systems and judging which protective responses matter most.
Why biodiversity matters here
Aotearoa developed in long isolation, so many plants, manu, reptiles, insects, and marine species are found nowhere else. That makes biodiversity here especially precious and especially vulnerable when habitats change or predators and disease are introduced.
Mātauranga Māori keeps this work grounded in relationship and care: species are not just counted units; they are part of the wellbeing of whenua, wai, and people.
Key ideas
Biodiversity
The variety of living things in one place: species, habitats, and relationships.
Native and endemic
Native species occur naturally here. Endemic species are found only in Aotearoa.
Kaitiakitanga
Guardianship that asks what care, restoration, and responsibility look like in practice.
Species, threats, responses
| Species or habitat | What makes it special? | Main threat | Best response |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tuatara | An ancient reptile lineage found naturally only here. | Predators and habitat pressure | Predator control and protected habitat |
| Kauri forest | Supports complex forest relationships and taonga species. | Kauri dieback and human spread | Track hygiene, restricted access, restoration |
| Wetland / repo | Filters water and provides habitat for fish, insects, and birds. | Drainage, pollution, sediment | Restore wetland edges and reduce runoff |
| Your local example |
Choose the strongest action
Rank these from strongest to weakest
- Putting up a poster
- Helping with a restoration planting day
- Cleaning footwear to prevent disease spread
- Supporting long-term predator control
There is no single perfect answer. The important part is your reasoning.
Explain your judgement
Which action would protect biodiversity most effectively in your chosen example? Explain why.
Support, core, stretch
Support
Start by naming one species, one threat, and one action before writing a full explanation.
Core
Complete the table and justify the response using evidence from the example.
Stretch
Compare two responses and explain which one has the strongest long-term system effect.
Students may respond through oral explanation, labelled notes, or full paragraphs depending on readiness and literacy confidence.
Hononga Marautanga · Curriculum Alignment
Science — Pūtaiao
Level 3–4: Investigate how living and physical systems work; understand relationships between organisms and their environments; collect, interpret, and evaluate scientific evidence to explain natural phenomena.
Social Sciences — Tikanga ā-Iwi
Level 3–4: Understand how human activity affects natural environments; explore the connection between ecological health and community wellbeing; recognise the role of cultural knowledge in environmental decision-making.
Aronga Mātauranga Māori
Mātauranga Māori is a sophisticated knowledge system built through centuries of careful observation, hypothesis, testing, and refinement — the same processes that define scientific inquiry. Māori knowledge of ecology, weather patterns, seasonal change, and animal behaviour guided sustainable resource management for generations before Western science arrived in Aotearoa. Understanding science through a dual-knowledge lens — bringing mātauranga Māori and Western science into dialogue rather than hierarchy — produces richer, more contextually grounded understanding. The concept of kaitiakitanga reminds us that scientific knowledge carries obligations: understanding how natural systems work means accepting responsibility for how we treat them.
Ngā Rauemi Tautoko · Support Materials
This handout is designed to be used alongside the broader unit resources available at Te Kete Ako handouts library. Related resources from the same unit are linked in the unit planner. All resources are provided — no additional preparation is required to use this handout in your classroom.
📋 Teacher Planning Snapshot
Ngā Whāinga Ako — Learning Intentions
Students will engage with this resource to explore how mātauranga Māori and Western science offer complementary frameworks for understanding and responding to environmental challenges — learning to read landscapes, ecosystems, and ecological change through both indigenous and scientific lenses.
Ngā Paearu Angitū — Success Criteria
- ✅ Students can explain how mātauranga Māori environmental knowledge provides insights that Western science alone may miss.
- ✅ Students can apply both indigenous and scientific frameworks to analyse a local environmental issue in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Differentiation & Inclusion
Scaffold support: Provide dual-lens analysis frameworks (mātauranga Māori lens | Western science lens) for entry-level comparison tasks. Offer extension challenges asking students to investigate a real environmental monitoring programme in Aotearoa that integrates both knowledge systems — for example, iwi-led water quality monitoring using both traditional indicators and scientific sampling.
ELL / ESOL: Environmental and scientific vocabulary (ecosystem, biodiversity, indicator species, sustainability, kaitiakitanga, taonga species) benefits from visual glossaries with images of local species and environments. Allow students to discuss environmental observations from their home countries as valid comparative contexts. Oral field observation is a powerful entry point that reduces language barriers.
Inclusion: Outdoor and field-based learning naturally supports diverse learners — sensory, kinaesthetic, and place-based engagement complements classroom tasks. Neurodiverse learners often thrive in structured outdoor inquiry. Ensure physical accessibility is considered for field components. Indigenous and Pacific students may bring family knowledge of traditional environmental practices — create space for this knowledge to be honoured, not just acknowledged.
Mātauranga Māori lens: Mātauranga Māori environmental knowledge is not folklore — it is centuries of systematic observation, classification, and adaptive management. Ngā tohu o te rangi (signs of the weather), ngā tohu o te taiao (signs of the natural world), and the detailed ecological knowledge encoded in place names all represent sophisticated environmental science. Kaitiakitanga is not simply "conservation" — it is a dynamic, relational ethic of guardianship that recognises humans as part of, not separate from, ecosystems. Marama Muru-Lanning and other contemporary mātauranga Māori researchers are demonstrating how this knowledge enriches environmental science.
Prior knowledge: Students benefit from foundational understanding of ecosystems and environmental science concepts. No specialist mātauranga Māori knowledge required — the unit builds this knowledge through inquiry.
Curriculum alignment
- Ecology — Living World: Understand how biotic and abiotic factors in ecosystems affect the distribution and abundance of organisms; and how changes in one part can affect the balance and wellbeing of the whole system.
- Place and Environment — Social Studies: Understand how people's management of resources reflects their values — and how mātauranga Māori provides a framework for kaitiaki responsibilities to the natural world.