Te Taiao • Kaitiakitanga • Years 7-9 • Local place inquiry

Kaitiakitanga Field Journal

Use this journal to help ākonga observe a local place carefully, notice tohu taiao, connect field notes to tikanga and responsibility, and move from looking to action. It is designed for local inquiry rather than generic “nature worksheet” work.

Ingoa / Name

Akomanga / Class

Best for

Local stream, bush, coast, school-ground, or marae-adjacent inquiry where students need a practical structure for observation and reflection.

Kaiako use

Use it before, during, and after fieldwork. It can support site observations, whānau kōrero, and action planning in one printable sequence.

Ākonga use

Students can record observations, sketch evidence, notice relationships, and propose a small action that shows kaitiakitanga in practice.

Linked next step

Best paired with Traditional Ecological Indicators and Environmental Literacy Framework.

Free classroom starter, premium localisation path

This journal is ready to print now. If your school needs a version built around a particular awa, mahinga kai site, maramataka focus, or local environmental issue, Te Wānanga can adapt it around your place and partnership context.

Add local species names, iwi and hapū guidance, or site protocols.
Create support, core, and stretch versions for different fieldwork roles.
Save the adapted sequence into My Kete or Creation Studio.

Adapt this in Te Wānanga Open Creation Studio Compare paid workflow options

Kaiako planning snapshot

Use length: 35-60 minutes depending on travel and observation time.
Grouping: Small groups with clear roles such as observer, sketcher, recorder, and speaker.
Prep: Confirm local tikanga, safety expectations, and who should be acknowledged before the visit begins.
Teaching move: Keep the focus on noticing relationships and responsibilities, not just collecting disconnected facts.

Tohu taiao Local action

Resources already provided

Observation, sketching, and note-taking spaces
Tikanga and group-role prompts
Tohu taiao and pressure/imbalance questions
Action-planning scaffold
Curriculum companion for teacher-only planning clarity

If the lesson mentions observation boxes, action prompts, or reflection space, those supports already exist on this page.

Ngā Whāinga Akoranga / Learning Intentions

We are learning how kaitiakitanga links observation, care, and action.
We are learning how to notice tohu taiao and other signs in a local place.
We are learning how to record evidence and respond respectfully as a group.

Paearu Angitu / Success Criteria

I can record useful observations about a local place.
I can explain at least one responsibility our group has in that place.
I can suggest a realistic next step that reflects kaitiakitanga.

Curriculum integration / Te Marautanga alignment

Use the companion page to make the curriculum link explicit around tikanga, local environmental signs, and interaction that is guided by whanaungatanga and manaakitanga.

Learning Languages Te Taiao Tohu taiao

Why this matters in Aotearoa

Kaitiakitanga is not only “looking after nature”. It is about relationship, responsibility, and the way people move with care in a place. Strong fieldwork in Aotearoa needs that wider lens.

Different iwi and hapū hold different tikanga, maramataka practices, and local environmental signs. This journal is designed to help students notice and act respectfully, not pretend one national rule covers every rohe.

Before you begin

Site and conditions

Group roles and karakia / tikanga note

Who should we acknowledge here?

What do we notice?

Record biotic, abiotic, and human-made signs. Use words, labels, or quick sketches.

Tohu taiao and place relationships

One sign of the season or weather is: _________________________________

One sign of pressure, imbalance, or harm is: _____________________________

One relationship between species, people, or place is: __________________

One local question I still have is: _____________________________________

Kaitiaki reflection

What responsibilities do we carry here? Who should be consulted before any action is taken?

Action planning

Small action

Who needs to be involved?

How will we show manaakitanga and tikanga?

Support, core, and stretch pathways

Support

Use one observation box at a time, record orally or with labels first, and work with a partner so the task stays chunked and manageable.

Core

Complete the observation, reflection, and one action-planning section with evidence from the site.

Stretch

Add a comparison with another site, another season, or a local tohu taiao pattern gathered from whānau or community knowledge.

Neurodiversity and inclusion note: allow sketching, voice notes, photo labels, and role-based participation before expecting a full written page from every learner.

Teach this tomorrow

Print or share

One copy per learner or pair
Clipboards, pencils, and optional coloured labels

Decide before class

Local protocol, safety boundaries, and acknowledgement steps
Whether your focus is observation, restoration, or community action

Good progress looks like

Students move beyond listing facts and notice relationships
Action ideas are grounded in place and responsibility, not generic slogans

Natural continuation

Turn notes into a restoration brief, class report, or local poster
Adapt it in Te Wānanga for your next field trip or rohe inquiry

Hononga Marautanga · Curriculum Alignment

Curriculum alignment for this handout has not yet been verified against the live curriculum statements. A generated placeholder that stood here was removed on 2026-08-29 because it matched no real statement.

Aronga Mātauranga Māori

Kaitiakitanga is not simply "environmental protection" — it is a relational obligation that flows from whakapapa. Māori are kaitiaki of the taiao not because they choose to be environmentalists, but because the land, water, and living world are kin — connected through whakapapa to the people who care for them. A field journal that observes the natural world through this lens asks a different set of questions: not just "what do I see?" but "what is my relationship to this?" and "what are my obligations to what I observe?" These are the questions that make kaitiakitanga a living practice rather than an abstract value.

Ngā Rauemi Tautoko · Support Materials

Unit 1 Guided Inquiry Project (unit-1-guided-inquiry-project.html) — use field journal observations to drive inquiry
Whakapapa Family Tree Template (whakapapa-family-tree-template-unit1.html) — connect kaitiakitanga to whakapapa
Te Ao Māori Cultural Concepts Word Search (te-ao-maori-cultural-concepts-word-search-unit1.html) — vocabulary for environmental kaitiakitanga
Pepeha Builder (pepeha-builder-template-unit1.html) — locate yourself in relation to the taiao you are observing

Curriculum alignment

Focus of this resource: Understand how cultural identity shapes participation in society — whakapapa, tikanga, and mana as foundations of Māori identity in Aotearoa New Zealand.