food webs

Did you know that 80% of marine litter globally starts life on land? Mizuiku Upstream Battle is a citizen science programme run by Keep New Zealand...

Backyard Battle is a citizen science programme run by Keep New Zealand Beautiful. It gets students, teachers, volunteers and other citizen scientists out collecting litter at...

Very tiny phytoplankton cells (a type of microscopic algae) can produce potent toxins. Although the toxin produced by one phytoplankton cell is pretty minimal, it can...

The beach provides each type of living thing found there with food and shelter. This activity involves students in researching and then observing a range of...

This Connected article takes a Pacific worldview and describes how the people of the Cook Islands have attempted to manage and protect their marine resources with...

We often think of pasture as grassy areas where cows, sheep or other animals graze, but if we take a closer look, there is a lot...

Repo (wetlands) are rich in biodiversity. They are the ‘in between’ places that connect the water with the land, providing habitats for native plants, invertebrates, fish...

Wetland habitats are diverse places. They support an enormous range of animals from microscopic communities to some of Aotearoa New Zealand’s largest birds. Zooplankton – the...

The ruru (morepork, Ninox novae-zelandiae) is not an animal we normally associate with repo – wetlands. We are more likely to hear their haunting calls coming...

In the Connected article Catch my drift, students learn about phytoplankton – tiny floating organisms that form the base of the marine food web. The article...

Have you ever wondered how animals manage to survive in the harsh Antarctic environment? What do they eat during those long winter months when ice and...

Fungi, plants, and animals live together in Tāne-mahuta, and all have important roles to play. Fungi live with plant roots, helping the plant to get minerals...

An ecosystem consists of all of the living organisms in an area and the interactions between them and the physical environment. New Zealand has a wide...

In this recorded professional learning session, Lyn Rogers and Steve Hathaway from Young Ocean Explorers introduce some exciting marine teaching and learning resources and: chat about...

The seas surrounding New Zealand are complex. They are a connected and dynamic mix of chemical, physical and biological processes. The sheer size of the ocean...

With 75% of New Zealanders living within 10 km of the coast, many students will be familiar with estuaries. In scientific terms, estuaries are the interface...

In this activity, students explore Māori perspectives concerning estuaries. By the end of this activity, students should be able to: explain how a Māori legend can...

In this activity, students become aware of the importance of estuaries. They identify some possible impacts on estuaries and possible actions that can be taken to...

In the past, many New Zealanders have not understood the value of estuaries. Many European settlers initially viewed estuaries as unproductive wastelands. Land was reclaimed for...

Estuaries connect land and sea. They are partly enclosed bodies of water situated at the edge of the land – a mixture of freshwater from streams...

This resource provides explanations of the key concepts encountered when exploring life in the sea – the ‘basics’ that every student should understand. Adaptation Biodiversity Canary...

Project Hotspot is a Taranaki-based citizen science project and one of the Participatory Science Platform (PSP) projects supported by the New Zealand Government. The Ngā Motu...

Iwi and marine biologists are curious to know whether the New Zealand native sea cucumber can become a valuable export product while also reducing the environmental...

Our native forests – ngahere – have complex ecosystems. Within the wider ecosystems are smaller ecosystems, such as the one formed around honeydew. Honeydew is a...