🧺 Te Kete Ako
Ngā Tohu o te Taiao — Cards
Lesson 3: Mātauranga Māori & Climate Knowledge · Activity 2 · Years 9–10
Print one set per pair and cut along the dashed lines. For each tohu, talk about what it signals — and what its disruption is telling us about the climate. These are real, place-specific signs; use local examples where you can.
🌸 Plant tohu
- Kōwhai flowering — spring & planting time
- Pōhutukawa blooming — midsummer
- Harakeke growth — soil moisture
Disruption: flowering 1–3 weeks earlier in some regions.
🦅 Bird & animal tohu
- Kererū & tūī movement — fruit availability
- Kōkako calls — forest health
- Kahawai schools — ocean temperature
Disruption: migration & breeding timing shifting.
🌊 Ocean & water tohu
- Pāua, kina, toheroa — ocean temp & kelp health
- Tuna (eel) migration — freshwater & rainfall
Disruption: marine heatwaves hitting mahinga kai.
Mahi Takirua · Work With the Tohu
- Match: for each tohu, say what it signals AND what its disruption tells us about the climate.
- Compare: what can a kaumātua who has watched one place for 60 years notice that a satellite cannot — and what can the satellite catch that they cannot?
- Add your own: what local tohu have you or your whānau noticed where you live?
Ngā Puna · Sources (verified)
NIWA — Mātauranga Māori & climate research · Ngā tohu o te taiao documented in Te Ara — the Encyclopedia of New Zealand · regional iwi environmental-monitoring reports. Tohu are place-specific taonga — treat local knowledge as held by the iwi and hapū whose it is.