Year 7 Science Ecosystems Kaitiakitanga Field Investigation

Kaitiakitanga Field Journal

Record what the evidence shows, what remains unknown, and whose permission an action needs.

Ingoa / Name

Akomanga / Class

Rā / Date

Ngā Whāinga Akoranga · Learning Intentions

I can identify the producers, consumers, and decomposers in a local ecosystem.

I can draw and explain a food web showing energy flow between organisms.

I can describe how human activity affects ecosystem balance.

I can propose one collective local action and name the evidence, authority, and permission it requires.

I can use scientific vocabulary: ecosystem, habitat, food web, population, biodiversity.

Knowledge and authority boundary

Kaitiakitanga is locally held relationship, authority, and obligation — not a generic label for any environmental activity.

Use local names, histories, tohu, harvest knowledge, or tikanga only when the kaiako supplies a source approved by mana whenua or the kura's authorised local relationship. Record that source below. If none has been supplied, write local guidance not yet supplied; do not fill the gap from memory or ask a learner to disclose whānau knowledge.

A food web is a scientific model of energy pathways. It may help explain a consequence, but it does not translate or replace whakapapa, mauri, maramataka, or tikanga.

Taiao — environment / nature Kaitiakitanga — relationship and responsibility Mana whenua — local authority

Approved local source or knowledge status:

Part A — Field observation

Go outside (school grounds, a nearby reserve, or look at photos provided by your teacher). Record what you observe in the ecosystem around you.

Location and date

Location:

Date / time:

Weather:

Ecosystem type:

Organism observations

P = Producer | C = Consumer | D = Decomposer

Non-living (abiotic) factors

Sunlight:

Water:

Soil / ground:

Temperature:

Wind:

Other:

Part B — Food web diagram

Using the organisms you recorded, draw a food web in the box below. Use arrows (→) to show the direction energy flows. Label each organism and show at least three trophic levels.

Draw your food web here — use arrows to show who eats whom

Reflection: Which organism in your food web do you think is most important to the ecosystem's health? Why?

Part C — Human impact analysis

Choose one human activity that affects your local ecosystem (e.g. introduced species, pollution, urban development, waterway modification, deforestation).

Human activity:

Impact	Which organism(s) affected?	Effect on food web
Short-term (this season)
Long-term (over decades)
Knock-on effect (secondary)

Which measured condition or relationship changes, and what evidence would show whether it is improving?

Part D — My kaitiaki action plan

Based on the evidence, propose one collective action the class could seek permission to test. A learner is not required to claim personal kaitiaki status.

My kaitiakitanga action

Action I will take:

Which organism/part of the ecosystem this will help:

How I will know it is working (success indicator):

Who could I work with? (whānau, school, hapū, council):

Whose authority or permission is required before acting?

Part E — Science vocabulary check

Match each term to its definition by writing the correct letter.

Term	Write the letter	Definition options
Ecosystem		A — All living things plus their non-living environment in a place B — An organism that makes its own food using sunlight C — The variety of species living in an area D — Where an organism lives and finds what it needs E — An organism that breaks down dead material F — A diagram showing who eats whom and energy flow G — An animal that eats producers or other consumers
Producer
Biodiversity
Habitat
Decomposer

Self-assessment

Rate yourself on each learning intention (1 = still learning, 3 = got it):

Identifying ecosystem roles: 1 2 3

Drawing a food web: 1 2 3

Explaining human impact: 1 2 3

Kaitiakitanga action planning: 1 2 3

One thing I want to find out more about:

Curriculum alignment

"Energy transfers and nutrients flow through food chains and food webs, through producers, consumers, and decomposers, and including processes such as photosynthesis and respiration."

"Evaluating ways humans can positively impact ecosystems and communicating actions that support kaitiakitanga (e.g. planting trees, composting, recycling, growing food, planting native species)"

Science · Phase 3 · Ecosystems. The journal gathers the evidence used to model energy pathways and justify an action proposal.

Paearu Angitu · Success Criteria + Kaiako Planning Snapshot

Success criteria — ākonga will demonstrate:

Can label producers, consumers, and decomposers in a local food web
Can describe at least one human impact on the ecosystem
Can propose one evidence-based action with a named permission pathway

Resources already provided. What to print: this six-page reusable field journal. Linked next step: Te Wānanga for a full lesson plan, or save to My Kete.

Inclusion: ESOL / ELL ākonga — bilingual headings and visual supports built in. UDL / neurodiverse learners — chunked journal sections with scaffolded prompts. ADHD-friendly: clear task sequence, multiple short activities.

Teacher notes

Setting: Works best with a 30-minute outdoor session + one classroom period to complete analysis sections.
Differentiation: Pre-fill six scrap cards from the learner's own observation table and provide one partly built chain. Extension: compare two evidence-based disruption scenarios.
Cross-curricular: Links to Social Studies (environment, identity), English (report writing), and the school's kura values.
Local context: Adapt Part A to your school's environment — coastal, bush, wetland, urban green space, marae grounds.
Assessment: Use as a formative journal (collect at end of Part C) or summative (collect complete journal). Vocabulary check provides quick diagnostic data.