Best for
End of Week 1 — after the environmental audit. Use to move from observation to focus selection for the unit action project.
Environmental Mātauranga • Unit 9 Week 1 • Years 7–10 • Ready to use
Environmental Problem Ranking Cards
Vote on which environmental problems are most urgent and most fixable. Use your audit findings to make an informed choice — not just a popular one. Good kaitiakitanga means choosing where you can actually make a difference.
Free ranking tool, premium localisation path
If you want cards customised to your specific local issues — with local iwi context, council data, or environmental agency rankings — Te Wānanga can create a localised version.
- Add cards for issues specific to your local taiao and community.
- Include local severity data from NIWA, regional councils, or iwi environmental reports.
- Save your group's decision and rationale in My Kete.
Kaiako planning snapshot
- Use length: 20–30 minutes, ideally directly after sharing audit findings.
- Grouping: Whole class for voting, then small groups for decision and rationale.
- Prep: Give each student 3 voting dots (sticker dots or pen marks). Brief the criteria clearly before voting begins.
- Differentiation: Entry learners vote using the criteria prompts; stretch learners write a justification of their choice using evidence from the audit.
- Neurodiversity support: Provide the cards to read in advance. Allow alternative voting methods (verbal, show of hands, written) for ākonga who struggle with the physical dot activity.
Resources already provided
- High, medium, and lower-impact problem cards
- Voting dots system for urgency and feasibility
- Voting results recording section
- Group decision and rationale space
- Entry, on-level, and extension pathway
All referenced resources are provided. Pair with the Environmental Audit Guide findings to make evidence-based decisions.
Ngā Whāinga Akoranga / Learning Intentions
- We are learning to evaluate environmental problems by urgency and feasibility.
- We are learning to make evidence-based decisions as a group.
- We are learning that kaitiakitanga requires choosing action you can actually sustain.
Paearu Angitu / Success Criteria
- I can explain why our group chose this focus problem.
- I can link our choice to evidence from the environmental audit.
- I can describe what a realistic action on this problem might look like.
Curriculum integration / Te Marautanga alignment
This decision-making process connects to Social Sciences (participating and contributing, using evidence) and the values of responsible action and ecological sustainability in the NZ Curriculum.
Why this matters in Aotearoa
In te ao Māori, decisions about the taiao were made collectively — through hui, rangatira leadership, and careful weighing of what the community could sustain. Kaitiakitanga is not just feeling bad about an issue — it is making a considered commitment to act on it. This ranking process models that kind of deliberate, grounded decision-making.
Voting instructions
- Each person gets 3 voting dots to place on the cards below.
- Vote based on two questions: How urgent? and Can we actually fix this?
- Count the dots after everyone has voted. Record the top 3 most urgent and most fixable.
- As a group, choose your focus problem. Write the decision and your reasoning below.
High impact problems
High impact
Water pollution — Wai kino
Contaminated streams, ponds, or waterways affecting aquatic life and water safety.
Votes:
High impact
Biodiversity loss — Rauropi ngaro
Disappearing native species, habitat destruction, invasive plants choking native ecosystems.
Votes:
High impact
Soil contamination — Oneone kino
Chemicals or pollutants in soil affecting plant growth and the food chain.
Votes:
High impact
Climate impact — Taiao huringa
Changing rainfall, temperatures, or extreme weather affecting the local ecosystem.
Votes:
Medium impact problems
Medium impact
Waste management — Para whakatikatika
Poor recycling, litter, overflowing bins, no composting system in place.
Votes:
Medium impact
Energy waste — Hiko maumau
Lights on in empty rooms, inefficient heating and cooling, unnecessary power use.
Votes:
Medium impact
Water waste — Wai maumau
Leaking taps, poor irrigation, wasteful practices depleting water resources.
Votes:
Medium impact
Poor landscaping — Tipu taiao kore
Only exotic plants, no native species or habitat for birds and insects.
Votes:
Medium impact
Erosion and stormwater — Oneone kore
Sediment runoff, blocked drains, flooding, and topsoil loss.
Votes:
Medium impact
Air quality — Hauhunga kino
Vehicle emissions, dust, or poor ventilation affecting health and the environment.
Votes:
Lower impact, still important
Lower impact
No food gardens — Māra kai kore
Missing opportunities for sustainable food production and composting.
Votes:
Lower impact
Transport emissions — Waka kino
Too many cars, no bike paths, poor access to public transport alternatives.
Votes:
Lower impact
No environmental education — Mātauranga kore
Students and staff unaware of environmental issues or sustainability practices.
Votes:
Voting results and group decision
Top 3 most urgent (by votes):
- ____________________________
- ____________________________
- ____________________________
Top 3 most fixable (by votes):
- ____________________________
- ____________________________
- ____________________________
Our group's chosen focus problem:
Why we chose this — our evidence and reasoning:
Entry, on-level, and extension pathway
Entry
Use the criteria prompts to vote. Tell your group which problem you chose and one reason why.
On-level
Vote using audit evidence, not just instinct. Write a clear decision with reasoning that connects to what the group observed.
Extension
Write a brief justification explaining why this problem is the right balance of urgency and feasibility for your group's capacity and timeframe.
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
In te ao Māori, prioritisation of environmental problems is guided by values as well as practicality. Kaitiakitanga does not treat all parts of the taiao as equally valuable in a commercial sense — it recognises that some places, species, and waterways carry greater cultural and spiritual significance. A degraded wāhi tapu or a polluted awa associated with an ancestor's name is not just an environmental problem; it is a breach of whakapapa relationships. That framing changes how urgency is assessed.
As you rank your problems today, consider both the scientific and the cultural dimensions of priority. Which issue has the greatest ecological impact? Which issue matters most to the people and the stories of this place? Are those the same issue, or different ones? Kaitiakitanga asks you to hold both kinds of importance at once — and to choose your action project with both in mind.
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