Best for
Week 1 community inquiry — gathering local mātauranga Māori about environmental change, traditional indicators, and kaitiakitanga practices.
Environmental Mātauranga • Unit 9 Week 1 • Years 7–10 • Teacher coordination required
Kaumātua Interview Guide
A respectful guide to learning traditional environmental knowledge from community elders. Always arrange this interview through your kaiako and with proper tikanga protocols in place.
Free interview guide, premium localisation path
If you need a version adapted to a specific iwi context, with local tikanga protocols, bilingual framing, or formal consent documentation, Te Wānanga and Creation Studio can help.
- Develop iwi-specific question sets in partnership with your community liaison.
- Add formal consent forms and data sovereignty agreements.
- Save interview notes securely in My Kete for reference across the unit.
Kaiako planning snapshot
- Use length: 40–60 minutes for the interview plus 20 minutes for reflection.
- Grouping: Small group (3–4 students) with adult liaison present.
- Prep: Contact community well in advance. Brief students on tikanga, recording permissions, and how to present themselves respectfully.
- Differentiation: Support learners can listen and record key words; stretch learners can prepare follow-up questions and make connections to their audit findings.
- Neurodiversity support: Provide the question list in advance so ākonga can read and rehearse. Allow note-taking supports (sketches, key words) rather than full sentences.
Resources already provided
- Pre-interview tikanga preparation checklist
- Structured question sets — introduction, environmental knowledge, restoration
- Response recording spaces for each question
- Closing protocol guidance
- Post-interview reflection questions
All referenced resources are provided. This guide requires community coordination — do not use without kaiako support and proper tikanga protocols.
Ngā Whāinga Akoranga / Learning Intentions
- We are learning to seek and receive mātauranga Māori respectfully.
- We are learning how traditional knowledge systems understand environmental health.
- We are learning to connect traditional knowledge to modern environmental challenges.
Paearu Angitu / Success Criteria
- I can follow tikanga protocols throughout the interview.
- I can record traditional environmental knowledge accurately and respectfully.
- I can explain how at least one traditional practice could help with a current environmental problem.
Curriculum integration / Te Marautanga alignment
This activity sits within Social Sciences and connects to Tātaiako's cultural competencies — particularly wānanga, whakairo, and ako. It supports mātauranga Māori as a valid knowledge system alongside Western science.
Why this matters in Aotearoa
Mātauranga Māori about the environment was built over centuries of careful whakapapa-based observation. Kaumātua hold ecological memory that no textbook can replicate — patterns of seasonal change, indicator species, water quality signals. Tikanga ensures that seeking this knowledge is done with manaakitanga and whanaungatanga, not extraction.
Before the interview — tikanga preparation
Never interview kaumātua without proper tikanga protocols and adult support. This is not optional.
Opening — mihi and context setting
Begin with a proper mihi. Introduce your project and yourself. Establish trust before asking questions.
Their connection to this area (record key details):
Any topics or knowledge they prefer not to share:
Traditional environmental knowledge questions
Observing environmental health
Ask: "When you were younger, how did your whānau know if the environment was healthy? What signs did you look for?"
Water quality — Wai
Ask: "How did your whānau traditionally know if water was safe? What would your tīpuna do if water was polluted?"
Plant and animal indicators
Ask: "What native plants or animals told your whānau that the land was healthy? Are these still present here?"
Traditional kaitiakitanga practices
Ask: "What did your whānau do to protect and restore the environment? How was kaitiakitanga practised day to day?"
Advice for young people today
Ask: "What advice would you give young people about combining traditional knowledge and modern science to care for our taiao?"
Closing the interview — ngā mihi
Thank the kaumātua sincerely. Present your koha. Ask about how to stay in touch and how they'd like to receive your project results.
How they'd like to stay involved or receive updates:
Post-interview reflection
What surprised you most about traditional environmental knowledge?
How do traditional methods compare with modern scientific approaches?
Which traditional practice could help with the environmental problem your team is investigating?
Entry, on-level, and extension pathway
Entry
Listen and record key words and phrases. Ask your group to help with notes. Share one thing you learned in the debrief.
On-level
Record responses to all questions. Identify connections between traditional knowledge and your team's environmental issue.
Extension
Analyse what the kaumātua shared against scientific data. Identify where the two knowledge systems align or differ. Write a short synthesis.
Hononga Marautanga · Curriculum Alignment
Social Sciences — Ecological Sustainability
Level 3–4: investigate local environmental issues; understand that communities have responsibilities to protect the environment for future generations; develop the skills to take informed, responsible action.
Science — Living World / Planet Earth
Level 3–4: observe and describe patterns in the local environment; connect scientific observation to environmental decision-making; understand that human activity affects ecosystems and that this impact can be reduced through careful stewardship.
Aronga Mātauranga Māori
The knowledge held by kaumātua about local environments is a form of intergenerational ecological monitoring. In te ao Māori, responsibility for the taiao was passed down through whakapapa — specific families held knowledge of specific waterways, forests, and coastlines across generations. That knowledge included not just what was present but what had changed: where the tuna once ran thick, where the kōwhai used to flower earlier, which seasons had shifted. Kaumātua carry that longitudinal environmental record in ways that no instrument can.
Approaching a kaumātua for knowledge is itself an act of kaitiakitanga — it honours the tradition of knowledge transfer and recognises that ecological understanding is held in people, not just in databases. As you prepare your questions, consider what the kaumātua might know that you cannot find in a scientific report: the name of this place before it changed, the species that used to be here, the events that altered the landscape. That knowledge is irreplaceable, and receiving it carries an obligation to use it well.
Ngā Rauemi Tautoko · Support Materials
Resources already provided:
- This handout — complete during the Week 1 environmental investigation
- Environmental Detective Checklist (unit-9-week1-environmental-detective-checklist.html) — detailed observation prompts for each audit category
- Problem Ranking Cards (unit-9-week1-problem-ranking-cards.html) — prioritise audit findings for the action project
- Kaumātua Interview Guide (unit-9-week1-kaumatua-interview-guide.html) — gather traditional knowledge about your local environment
- Project Planning Template (unit-9-week1-project-planning-template.html) — plan your group's action response