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New Zealand’s National Science Challenges

As New Zealanders looking to the future, we are faced with many opportunities – and challenges. These include improving the health of all our people, advancing our economic growth, protecting our ...

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ARTICLE

Where land meets sea, the Rena disaster – introduction

The resources in this collection are about where the land meets the sea. New Zealand has 15,134 km of coastline with extensive marine habitat. Land and sea are intricately linked, one impacting ...

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ARTICLE

Rena wrecked on reef: oil clean-up on-going

On 5 October 2011, Maritime New Zealand was called to respond to an ‘incident’ in the early hours of the morning. The 236 m cargo vessel Rena had struck the Astrolabe Reef about 12 nautical miles ...

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ACTIVITY

Feral cats and conservation – role-play

Aotearoa New Zealand has one of the highest cat ownership rates in the world. Nearly 40% of households have at least one cat – for the most part, we’re fond of our cats. Unfortunately, domestic ...

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ACTIVITY

Should cats be allowed to roam freely?

Aotearoa New Zealand has a lot of cats! Forest & Bird reports we have: 1,134,000 companion cats 196,000 stray cats millions of feral cats – there’s no data on feral cat abundance but this is ...

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ACTIVITY

Roaming cats – draw the line

Should cats be allowed to roam freely? It’s an emotive question with lots of underlying factors. For example, are we talking about cherished cats or feral cats – pets or pests? Does this matter ...

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CITIZEN SCIENCE PROJECT

Global Earth Challenge

Be part of a worldwide movement and use Global Earth Challenge to submit or classify photos to help our planet’s environment and human health. Global Earth Challenge is a citizen science campaign ...

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CITIZEN SCIENCE PROJECT

Find-A-Pest

The free Find-A-Pest app makes it easy to report and identify possible pest species. Wherever you are, you can help protect Aotearoa New Zealand’s primary industries and native species in two ...

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CITIZEN SCIENCE PROJECT

Big Butterfly Count

This New Zealand-based citizen science project collects data about butterflies in our gardens, schools, parks and farms – any location in the country or on the outer islands. This annual event – ...

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TEACHER PLD

Weeds and native ecosystems – a context for learning

Introduced plant species – friend or foe? This might depend on who is answering the question. Over 25,000 exotic plants have been introduced to Aotearoa New Zealand. Some of these are highly ...

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TEACHER PLD

Material World – Recycling and biodegradability

Below are links to Science Learning Hub resources for primary teachers related to recycling and biodegradability in the Material World strand of the New Zealand Curriculum. Recycling and ...

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TEACHER PLD

Estuaries – a context for learning

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 between the land and the sea – the ...

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VIDEO

Rapid response to the Rena

Immediately following the grounding of the Rena on the Astrolabe Reef, the Bay of Plenty Polytechnic and the University of Waikato formed a marine response team. This team surveyed local marine ...

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VIDEO

Pest plants

Researcher Cheri van Schravendijk-Goodman explains why some plants are considered pest plants within the Waikato River catchment. These plants invade the catchment area and often compete with ...

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VIDEO

Plants making gold nanoparticles

Prof Richard Haverkamp, of Massey University, outlines why he uses plants to make gold nanoparticles. There are also views of Dr Aaron Marshall and the electrolysis equipment used to test ...

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SLIDESHOW

Weeds that threaten native ecosystems – slideshow

A slideshow of weeds and the adaptations that make them problematic in a New Zealand setting. Use the Slideshow menu for further options, including view full screen, and go here for the download ...

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INTERACTIVE

C-14 carbon dating process

Historical artefacts like moa bones can be dated using a technique that measures the activity of the radioisotope carbon-14 still present in the sample. By comparing this with a modern standard ...

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INTERACTIVE

Auckland Islands marine ecosystem

The marine environment of the Auckland Islands in the New Zealand Subantarctic Islands group is home to a diverse range of species. Use this interactive image to learn about this diverse ...

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