Microscopes have played an important role in recent research on harakeke (native New Zealand flax) at the University of Otago. Dr Bronwyn Lowe and other researchers have been working with Māori ...
Position: Research Fellow Botany, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. Field: Botany. Dr Patrick Brownsey’s areas of interest include plants, ferns, biosystematics and taxonomy. He became ...
In this activity, students match native flowers with their pollinators, basing predictions on the main characteristics of flowers pollinated by wind, insects or birds. By the end of this ...
By comparing some features of fossilised plants with the same features of plants living today, scientists hope to be able to learn more about the effect of changing carbon dioxide (CO2) levels in ...
iNaturalist logs hundreds of thousands of photos of flora, fauna and fungi. There are even sound recordings too. Each is described and geo located. iNaturalist is used by citizens and scientists ...
Myrtle rust is a serious biosecurity threat, and help is needed to monitor its spread. This citizen science project aims to gather information on the location, hosts and intensity of this fungal ...
Flowering plants create seeds, which get spread away from the parents and grow into new plants in new places. Pollination has to happen before seeds can be made, so flowers have a range of ways ...
In this unit, students investigate trends and drivers and what may be possible and preferable attributes for new fruit varieties in the future. Purpose To understand the influences currently ...
This unit plan is designed for students in years 1–5. When someone mentions the word ‘butterfly’, what image pops into your head? Chances are it’s the monarch or the white butterfly, as these are ...
Dr Bronwyn Lowe (University of Otago) worked with Māori weavers to explore the properties of different harakeke varieties. In this clip, Bronwyn explains how the weavers’ traditional knowledge ...
Dr Bronwyn Lowe (University of Otago) describes her use of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to explore harakeke leaves. Bronwyn found that different harakeke varieties have differently ...
Dr Patrick Brownsey is the Senior Curator Natural Environment at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa in Wellington. Patrick explains what his job involves. Point of interest: Technology ...
The life cycle of ferns is different from other land plants as both the gametophyte and the sporophyte phases are free living. This interactive illustrates the alternation of generations in ...
Use this graphic organiser to place the food cards where you think they belong. This activity can be done individually, in pairs or as a whole class.
An interactive that shows how early Māori used different fungi for food and medicine.
