Y9 Science: Ecology in Aotearoa
🌱 EcoRestore - Ecosystem Restoration Game
Te Kēmu Whakaora Taiao - Restore native ecosystems!
"Whatungarongaro te tangata, toitū te whenua"
People pass on but the land remains - as kaitiaki we must restore it
🎮 How to Play
You are a conservation manager responsible for restoring a degraded ecosystem in Aotearoa. Your goal is to:
- Remove pests (rats, possums, stoats) that threaten native species
- Plant native trees to restore forest habitat
- Release native birds once the environment is safe
- Achieve biodiversity targets while managing your budget
Win condition: Reach 80% native vegetation and 5+ native bird species with pest levels below 10%
📚 Species Guide / Te Aratohu Momo
🌳 Native Trees / Ngā Rākau
Examples: Kahikatea, Rimu, Tōtara, Pōhutukawa
Role: Provide habitat, food, and shelter for native species
Te reo: Rākau (tree), Ngahere (forest)
🐦 Native Birds / Ngā Manu
Examples: Tūī, Kererū, Kākā, Korimako
Role: Pollination, seed dispersal, ecosystem health indicators
Te reo: Manu (bird), Rere (to fly)
🐀 Pest Species / Ngā Kīrearea
Examples: Rats, Possums, Stoats, Ferrets
Impact: Kill birds, eat eggs, destroy vegetation
Control: Trapping, poisoning, exclusion fencing
🪤 Predator Control / Te Whakahaere Kīrearea
Methods: DOC200 traps, Goodnature traps, 1080
Goal: Predator Free 2050 - eliminate possums, rats, stoats
Te reo: Tāwhare (trap)
🎯 Learning Outcomes / Ngā Hua Ako
By playing this game, you will understand:
- Ecosystem restoration - why it takes time and planning
- Pest impact - how introduced predators devastate native species
- Trophic cascades - how removing pests allows ecosystems to recover
- Conservation economics - the real costs of restoration work
- Kaitiakitanga - our responsibility to restore and protect taiao
📝 Reflection Questions
- Why is it important to control pests before releasing native birds?
- What would happen if you planted trees but didn't control pests?
- How does this game relate to real restoration projects like Zealandia or Maungatautari?
- What aspects of kaitiakitanga did you demonstrate while playing?
- If you had unlimited budget, what would you prioritise first? Why?
👩🏫 Teacher Notes
Duration: 20-30 minutes gameplay + 15 minutes reflection
Learning objectives:
- Understand the principles of ecosystem restoration
- Recognise the impact of introduced predators on native species
- Apply decision-making skills in resource allocation
- Connect game concepts to real-world conservation in Aotearoa
Extension: Have students research a real restoration project (Zealandia, Tiritiri Matangi, Maungatautari) and compare strategies.
Cross-curricular: Mathematics (budgeting), Social Studies (conservation policy)
📋 Teacher Planning Snapshot
Ngā Whāinga Ako — Learning Intentions
Students will engage with this resource to build understanding of Aotearoa New Zealand's ecosystems, biodiversity, and the role of kaitiakitanga in environmental stewardship.
Ngā Paearu Angitū — Success Criteria
- ✅ Students can explain key concepts from this resource using their own words.
- ✅ Students can connect the content to real-world environmental contexts in Aotearoa.
Differentiation & Inclusion
Scaffold support: Provide sentence starters, word banks, or graphic organisers to scaffold access for students who need it. Offer entry-level and extension tasks to address a range of readiness levels.
ELL / ESOL: Pre-teach key vocabulary and provide bilingual glossaries where available. Allow students to respond in their home language first.
Inclusion: Use accessible formats. Neurodiverse learners benefit from chunked instructions and choice in how they demonstrate understanding.
Prior knowledge: Best used after the relevant lesson sequence. No specialist prior knowledge required for entry-level engagement.
Curriculum alignment
- Organism Diversity — Knowledge: Flowers play an important role in the life cycle of flowering plants: pollination, seed formation, and seed dispersal.
- Ecosystems — Practices: Researching interventions that address specific ecosystem disruptions, using case studies or local examples to explore the practicalities and outcomes of different solutions (…
- Ecosystems — Practices: Observing local ngā tohu o te taiao, such as flowering of certain plants or bird migrations, and explaining why these indicators can be used to understand and predict other en…
- Ecosystems — Knowledge: Individually, in communities, or as nations, humans can help protect and restore ecosystems through sustainable practices, including conserving resources, supporting regenerat…
- Ecosystems — Knowledge: Ecosystems can usually regenerate naturally, and humans can support this through conservation and restoration.