๐Ÿ” Week 1: Environmental Detective Checklist

Unit 9: Environmental Mฤtauranga โ€” Protecting Our Taiao
"How Do We Fix What's Broken in Our Environment?" โ€” Detective work to identify real environmental problems at your school.

๐Ÿ•ต๏ธ Mission: You are environmental detectives investigating what's broken in your school environment. Look for specific problems you can see, measure, and potentially fix. Use both your eyes (like traditional Mฤori observation) and tools (like modern science).
๐Ÿซ Investigation Team:
Names: ________________________
________________________________
________________________________
Date: __________________________
๐ŸŒ Mฤori Principle:
Kaitiakitanga โ€” Our role as guardians of the environment
Traditional Mฤori would observe nature closely to detect changes and problems.

๐Ÿ’ง Water Issues (Wai)

Polluted water sources โ€” Look for murky, smelly, or discolored water
What you observed:


Severity:
Minor
Moderate
Severe
๐Ÿ“ธ Photo location: ________________________________
Water wastage โ€” Dripping taps, running hoses, overflowing gutters
What you observed:


Severity:
Minor
Moderate
Severe
๐Ÿ“ธ Photo location: ________________________________
Poor stormwater management โ€” Erosion, flooding, blocked drains
What you observed:


Severity:
Minor
Moderate
Severe
๐Ÿ“ธ Photo location: ________________________________

๐Ÿ—‘๏ธ Waste Issues (Para)

Litter and debris โ€” Paper, plastic, food waste in inappropriate places
What you observed:


Severity:
Minor
Moderate
Severe
๐Ÿ“ธ Photo location: ________________________________
Inefficient recycling โ€” Wrong items in bins, overflowing bins, no compost
What you observed:


Severity:
Minor
Moderate
Severe
๐Ÿ“ธ Photo location: ________________________________

๐ŸŒฑ Biodiversity Issues (Taiao Rauropi)

Lack of native plants โ€” Mostly exotic species, few or no native trees/plants
What you observed:


Severity:
Minor
Moderate
Severe
๐Ÿ“ธ Photo location: ________________________________
Invasive weeds โ€” Weeds choking out native plants, destroying habitat
What you observed:


Severity:
Minor
Moderate
Severe
๐Ÿ“ธ Photo location: ________________________________
Poor habitat quality โ€” No bird nesting sites, no food sources, no shelter
What you observed:


Severity:
Minor
Moderate
Severe
๐Ÿ“ธ Photo location: ________________________________

โšก Energy Issues (Hiko)

Energy wastage โ€” Lights left on, heating/cooling inefficient, old equipment
What you observed:


Severity:
Minor
Moderate
Severe
๐Ÿ“ธ Photo location: ________________________________

๐ŸŽฏ Investigation Summary

1. Which problem seems most urgent? Why?



2. Which problem could your team realistically help fix?



3. What traditional Mฤori approach might help address this problem?



๐Ÿ” Next Steps:
  • Share your findings with the class
  • Vote on the most important problems to investigate further
  • Form teams around specific environmental issues
  • Begin planning how to measure and track your chosen problem