Thinking about our place within te taiao

In this virtual session we will explore concepts of sustainability from a Te Ao Māori perspective or a Māori worldview.

We will look at a range of examples and come up with some ways we can live more sustainably at home and at kura. 

In this virtual session we will explore concepts of sustainability from a Te Ao Māori perspective or a Māori worldview.

We will consider the idea of our place in the environment and what impact our actions may have. We’ll also take a closer look at Māori concepts, namely, Manaaki, Kaitiaki and Whanaunga; how do we connect as we live within them?

Examples of sustainability like harvesting harakeke, rāhui and other tikanga will be discussed. There will be time for students to think, pair, and share their thoughts, as well as brainstorm their current ideas and how they may live more sustainably at home and at school.

This session is suited to classes who are learning about, or want to learn more about, concepts within Te Ao Māori and sustainability.

Learning outcomes:

Understand concepts of sustainability from a Māori world view. 


Success Criteria: 

Students will:

  1. know that we are part of a bigger environment 
  2. know our actions impact others and the environment
  3. give an example/s of a sustainable behaviour/s

Tikanga-ā-Iwi Place and Environment

  • peoples' interactions with places and environments
  • how people sustain the environment.

The Economic World

  • the ways people use, allocate and manage resources

Pūtaiao The Natural World

  • This strand is metaphorically associated with the majority of the traditional familial deities, which collectively represent a Māori system of organising and understanding the natural world and the relationships between all living things. It reminds us to respect the mauri of all things discovered, consumed, or used by humans.

Key Competencies

  1. Thinking
  2. Relating to others
  3. Participating and contributing

Level 1:

Science:

  • Participating and contributing
  • Explore and act on issues and questions that link their science learning to their daily living.

Social Sciences:

  • Understand how the cultures of people in New Zealand are expressed in their daily lives.

Level 2:

Science:

  • Participating and contributing
  • Explore and act on issues and questions that link their science learning to their daily living.

Social Sciences:

  • Understand how cultural practices reflect and express people’s customs, traditions, and values.
  • Understand how the status of Māori as tangata whenua is significant for communities in New Zealand.

Level 3

Science:

  • Participating and contributing
  • Explore various aspects of an issue and make decisions about possible actions.

Social Sciences:

  • Understand how cultural practices vary but reflect similar purposes.
  • Understand how people make decisions about access to and use of resource

Level 4:

Science:

  • Participating and contributing
  • Explore various aspects of an issue and make decisions about possible actions.

Social Sciences:

  • Understand how people participate individually and collectively in response to community challenges.

Email: conservationlearning@aucklandzoo.co.nz
(09) 360 3817
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