New Zealand bush ecosystems

In this activity, students build a food web that represents the Aotearoa New Zealand bush ecosystem. Students use images of organisms within the ecosystem to explore the relationships between them.

By the end of this activity, students should be able to:

• understand the difference between a food chain and a food web

• describe some of the relationships between organisms within the New Zealand bush ecosystem

• explain why birds have an important role in the New Zealand bush ecosystem

• explain possible outcomes of an imbalance of diversity within our ecosystems.

Tūī feeding

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Tūī and other birds (bellbirds, kererū and weka) feed on fruit from native trees. These birds assist in the seed dispersal process, allowing seed germination to occur.

Rights:  Image courtesy of Ngā Manu Images

Download the Word file (see link below) for:

• introduction/background notes

• what you need

• what to do

• discussion questions

• ecosystem organisms – student worksheet

• organism cards

• food web example.