Enhancing biodiversity in your green space
This resource provides ideas and learning experiences to enhance the native and endemic biodiversity in your green space.

This resource is part of the Protecting your environment series, to encourage primary and intermediate students to go outdoors, explore and connect to a local green space.

Published: 2017

Download the resource

Enhancing biodiversity in your green space cover.

Enhancing biodiversity in your green space (PDF, 2,657K)

Learning outcomes

Using this resource, students can:

  • Come to conclusions about which plants and animals are living in their green space
  • Gain an appreciation for how plants and animals interact with each other in an ecosystem
  • Plan to enhance native biodiversity in their green space

Animal connections information sheets

Activity sheets

These activity sheets can be edited:

Curriculum Links

Level 1-4 Science

Living World: Life Processes

  • L1 & 2: Recognise that all living things have certain requirements so they can stay alive.
  • L3 & 4: Recognise that there are life processes common to all living things and that these occur in different ways.

Living world: Ecology

  • L3 & 4: Explain how living things are suited to their particular habitat and how they respond to environmental changes, both natural and human induced

Planet Earth and Beyond: Earth systems

  • L1 & 2: Explore and describe natural features and resources.

Nature of Science

  • Understanding about science
  • Investigating in science
  • Communicating in science
  • Participating and contributing

Science capabilities

  • Gather and interpret data
  • Use evidence
  • Critique evidence
  • Interpret representations
  • Engage with science

Level 2-3 Health

Healthy Communities and environments: Community resources

  • L2: Identify and use local community resources and explain how these contribute to a healthy community

Healthy communities and environments: People and the environment

  • L3: Plan and implement a programme to enhance an identified aspect of their (classroom or) environment

Minor curriculum links

  • English: Listening, reading and viewing

Learning sequence

  1. Reconnect with your green space. Reflect on learning during your inquiry throughout the previous resources.
  2. Come to conclusions about the biodiversity in your green space. Develop conclusions about what is living in your green space and its health.
  3. Learn about the connections in your green space. Learn about the interactions and connections of living things in your green space.
  4. Extend thinking about green spaces and future focussed thinking. Explore Māori perspectives. Add to big picture knowledge about your green space.
  5. Form a plan to enhance biodiversity. Choose an endemic/native species to bring back or enhance in your green space.
  6. Share knowledge and take the next steps. Share findings and take steps to enhance biodiversity in their green space.

Learning levels

  • Primary
  • Secondary 

Topics

  • Forests and green spaces

Curriculum learning areas

  • Science
  • Health and PE

Webinars 

Webinars are available to view on the Science Learning Hub website. They use the Exploring your local environment resources to model how conservation education can support student inquiry into a local green space:

Special thanks to Science Learning Hub for partnering with us to deliver these fantastic webinars.

Contact

For questions or feedback about these resources, email engagement@doc.govt.nz