Activities & Resources

Video - Koanga Institute has the largest collection of heritage seeds in Aotearoa. They help teach regenerative and sustainable ways of living in urban places.

Recipe - This classic kiwi boil up is easy to make, delicious to eat, and is sure to please even the fussiest eaters.

Video - What does a local community garden look like? What sorts of things can you see at different times of the year?

Video documentary - Fashion lover Assefeh Barrat follows every stage of the production process - from cotton growers in the USA, to factory owners in Turkey and designers in the West to see who is leading the way in reducing fashion's environmental impact. And she asks consumers if they are really willing to change their fast fashion habits.

Video - Farmers and researchers are protecting our food security from the effects of climate change in Aotearoa and across the globe.

Journal Article - How can we advocate for safe working conditions for workers from the fashion industry?

Printable pdf - Explore the Herb Garden to discover plants from around the world that are grown for different uses.

Video - Follow along to create a candle using locally sourced beeswax and wicks.

Printable activity - Explore our Edible Garden using this activity sheet to gather ideas that will help you grow delicious food at home!

Video - Panelists discuss the impacts of global food production and how Mātauranga Māori can guide us in restoring our taiao.

Video - Adventurous and adorable kids give us an entrée into the world’s array of foods and snacks

Video - Tomatoes are the cheapest they’ve been in 12 years, so we can afford to blow some up.

PDF - Fungi presentation slides from Mushroom Smith.

Downloadable activities - These hands-on activities are a great way to get your tamariki engaging with learning about our wetland areas, and how they can help to protect them.

Video - Fashion is one of the most polluting industries in the world. But a small town in Italy called Prato has built its fortune on transforming old scraps into new clothes, particularly knitwear and wool.

Teachers resources - Clothing and associated textiles have had major impacts on both the natural and social worlds. What are the positive and negative impacts that technology has made on natural and social environments.

Video - Remember the whakapapa of water using this waiata

Collection of short videos about the basics of keeping bees

Printable activity - How much of our food contains water? Print and cut out to match the picture, name, and water percentage of natural foods. Answers included.

TPNM are proud to present the first of our Tūhono ki Taiao Interactive Online and taiao based event series for 2022

This kaupapa is aimed at REVIVING our ancestral knowledge, to RECONNECT whānau to our natural environments, and build a movement of Taiao REGENERATING for the future

Video - Actions to help remember the whakapapa of Wai.

Pdf - What foods do children eat, what should we be eating, and how does advertising effect children? This slideshow shows the latest in child health research from Dr Victoria Egli and Dr Rajshri Roy.

Video - As the population grows, the demand for food is only going to increase, but luckily, scientists are already working to solve this problem.

Video - Are GMOs bad for your health? Or is this fear unfounded?

PDF - Flyer of Auckland Teaching Garden locations. Click here to see community gardens in your area which you can visit.

Auckland Botanic Garden have created resources to connect with the birds in your garden or school! Learn about the plants most loved by our native birds, do a bird count activity, or fill out the worksheet to learn more. You can also try are hand at making some DIY binoculars!

Website and PDF - Provides a great environmental resource to educate your tamariki about invertebrates, as well as informs you of the relevant curriculum links that this will have.

Teachers pdf lessons - Resources and links to help children understand nutrition and enrichment for animals at the Zoo.

Recipe - Pesto is a great way to use a surplus of greens in the garden. Use your pesto on toast, crackers or spread on a pizza base.

PDF - Carrot and radish seeds are so tiny, they need help germinating. Making seed tape helps them grow better.

With an interactive resource as well as multiple fact sheets, this DOC sight provides you with the tools to educate your tamariki about the importance of pest management in NZ.

Video - Join Anna, Kara, and Baxter as they walk through Totara Park highlighting some of Aotearoa's precious edible plants.

Book a school trip to the Auckland Botanic Gardens Experience Center with our Sustainable Schools team.

Video - Auckland Zoo educator Laura demonstrates how you can make your very own behavioural enrichment for your pets at home.

Teachers resource (pdf) - A bi-lingual science/mātauranga māori guide to mushrooms of Aotearoa.

Downloadable activities - use these fun resources and activities to educate your tamariki about life under the waves.

Recipe - How did food move around the world in times of war? ANZAC cookies were a popular item to send to soldiers across the sea.

Connect to the rangatahi at Te Pu-a-Nga Maara; Rangatahi Led Innovation, Indigenous Solutions for a Sustainable Future

Teachers resources - Links to resources, lesson plans, articles, and informational sites to help teach your students about the environmental and socio-economic pressures of a fast fashion industry.

Video library - The Story of Stuff has produced dozens of animated shorts and documentaries that chart a path to a more just and sustainable future.

Video - How and where is the average t-shirt made, and what’s its environmental impact? Angel Chang traces the life cycle of a t-shirt.

VR walkthrough of the Vodafone Event Centre

Video - What if we didn't buy the goods we use, but instead favoured access and performance over ownership?

Video - Auckland Zoo's Stores Manager, Ian, shows us the fridges and pantries used for animals diets at Auckland Zoo.

Video - Food security means that everyone has access to sufficient, safe, nutritious, and affordable food and food producers have sustainable livelihoods.

Video documentary - Fast fashion is cheap, worn briefly, then discarded, leaving behind mountains of used clothing. Producers and retailers promise sustainability and recycling, but how sincere is their promise to make new clothing from old?

Worksheet Activity - Department of Conservation, Te Papa Atawhai, has this Awesome worksheet available for tamariki on their website.

Awesome links for colouring in native fauna, as well as creating masks and 3D birds!

Video - How can we re-design the way our economy works - designing products that can be 'made to be made again' and powering the system with renewable energy.

Here is a small selection of Garden to Table recipes, developed and written specifically with young readers in mind.

Video - Learn how to make a GIY (Grow It Yourself) mushroom farm from scratch in less than 30 minutes.

Visit the edible garden at Auckland Botanic Gardens to get some tips around making your own home garden!

Video - Organic food is a huge trend: it promises a healthier and better life. But can Organic food really live up to the expectations or is it just baloney?

Downloadable booklet - Become familiar with Māori words and phrases you can use while you are out enjoying te taiao, the unique environment of Aotearoa.
Te reo Māori, like so many of our other taonga in Aotearoa, is threatened. But, like the environment, with collective understanding, care and action the language will thrive.
This booklet was developed in collaboration with the Department of Conservation and the Ministry of Education to provide information about the natural world.

Lesson plans, resources, and much more to support learning from the Auckland Zoo.

Document - Instructions for how to grow your Phoenix Oyster mushroom kits. Please remember to weigh and record data for harvest and weight of mushrooms.

Teachers resource (pdf) - Kore HiaKai supports the frontline work of community food organisations while also undertaking the slower, deeper work of addressing poverty related hunger’s root causes.

Video - Lets try some māori delicacies! Rangatahi use reo and kai to revitalize and reconnect to māori culture.

Video - Watch as Sam prepares the perfect summertime morning tea treat for Auckland Zoo's curious and cute squirrel monkeys!

Website - Te Pu-a-nga Maara offers a unique opportunity for both young and old to get excited about mahi Tiaki Taiao.

Video - Plants are constantly under attack, but how do they protect themselves against threats.

Video - In this fun-filled lesson, children find out why water is essential for life. The video explores how our bodies use water and how it is stored in our foods. It also looks at where our water comes from and why it is important to use it wisely. Jam-packed with activities, games and science experiments, it will engage and inspire curious minds.

Video - Millions of tonnes of clothes end up in landfill every year—it’s one of the fastest-growing categories of waste in the world. How can the fashion industry continue to grow while addressing the environmental need for people to buy fewer clothes?

Teachers resources - Publications from Wai Care with in depth information about freshwater invertebrates.

Video - 925 million people go to bed hungry despite there being enough food to feed the planet. This video explains what food (in)security is, and why it is important.

Video - What do different plants smell of? Can smelly plants kill germs? Why are some flowers sweet smelling, others gross, while others don't smell at all?