Our activities on the land have wide-ranging effects on Aotearoa New Zealand’s diverse ecosystems and the biodiversity they support. Our land 2024 is an environmental report...
Tupuānuku is a whetū in the Matariki cluster. It is the star connected to anything associated within the soil, including cultivated and uncultivated foods grown in...
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...
Earthworms are useful indicators of soil health. This project aims to capture information on earthworm abundance and species distribution throughout New Zealand. Information provided will be...
CAPOW – Curious About Processing Organic Waste – is a Taranaki-based citizen science project and one of the Participatory Science Platform (PSP) projects supported by the...
Farming is a way of life in New Zealand – about half the country’s land is used for primary production. New Zealand Trade and Enterprise reports...
Science capabilities connect the nature of science, the key competencies and the science content strands. In this online PLD session recorded on 19 May 2016, we...
Primary Science Week 2016 has a focus on soil. Don’t confuse dirt with soil – did you know there are more living things in a teaspoon...
In this activity, students learn to read and interpret aspects of soil moisture maps and compare data by location and over time. This activity complements the...
In this online PD session recorded on 17 March 2016, Barb Ryan from the Science Learning Hub, explores resources suitable for children working at Levels 1...
In this activity, students find the moisture content of a soil sample and compare it to soil samples from different locations around the school. You can...
Soil – it’s much more than dirt. Soil keeps us alive. Without soil, we would be hungry, thirsty, naked, homeless and breathless. Soils differ from location...
In this activity, students use an interactive or paper-based graphic organiser to explore their ideas about the components of soil. By the end of this activity,...
Students do not arrive in the classroom as blank slates. They’ve been exposed to the world around them and may have created their own explanations for...
In this activity, students use Hub resources to learn about two unusual native New Zealand soil creatures. This cross-curricular activity combines science with reading, viewing, writing...
In this activity, students observe billions of soil microbes and ‘see’ microbes at work as they soft boil an egg in a compost bin. By the...
In this activity, students gather soil samples from their homes to view how soils differ from location to location. By the end of this activity, students...
In this activity, students use a picture book and/or dig a hole to learn more about soil, observation and inference in science. By the end of...
A habitat is an area in which something lives. Soil is a habitat, and it is full of life! Around 25% of everything alive on the...
If you dig a hole in your school playing field, will the soil there look the same as the soil in your home garden? Is soil...
What’s in soil? When you pick up a handful of soil, what do you see? All soil is made up of inorganic mineral particles, organic matter...
Soil, dirt, earth, muck – there are lots of words for soil. One we don’t often hear associated with soil is life. Soil keeps us alive...
When Māori arrived in Aotearoa/New Zealand in the late 13th century, they found a land quite different to the Polynesia from which they had travelled. The...
Imagine having a job where you get to work outside and no one worries if you get dirty! That is one aspect many soil scientists enjoy...
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