Environmental Data Exploration

Name:

Date:

🎯 WALT & Success Criteria

We Are Learning To:

• Explore how data is used to understand environmental issues

• Identify key data sources related to environmental sustainability

Success Criteria - I can:

□ Recognise and name different sources of environmental data

□ Interpret data visualisations such as graphs and charts relating to the environment

□ Discuss how such data helps us understand and solve environmental problems

📊 Part 1: Data Source Identification

1. Which of these is the BEST source for measuring air quality in Auckland?

Social media posts

NIWA air monitoring stations

Personal opinions

Newspaper headlines

2. Check ALL the environmental data types that could help us understand climate change in Aotearoa:

Temperature records over 100 years

Sea level measurements

Rainfall patterns

Celebrity opinions on weather

Glacier size changes

3. A graph shows native bird populations in Fiordland from 2000-2023. The line goes down steadily. This trend suggests:

Bird populations are increasing

Bird populations are staying the same

Bird populations are declining

The data is unreliable

4. Complete this sentence: Data about waterway pollution levels helps us understand environmental problems because it shows us _________________ over time.

🌱 Part 2: Connecting Data to Kaitiakitanga

5. Explain how environmental data supports the Māori concept of kaitiakitanga (guardianship of nature). Give one specific example.

6. Look at this scenario: A scatter plot shows that as water temperature increases, native fish species decrease in Canterbury rivers. How could this data help environmental decision-making?

7. Name TWO questions you could investigate using environmental data about New Zealand:

Question 1: _________________________________________________

Question 2: _________________________________________________

8. What is one limitation or challenge when using environmental data? (Think about reliability, bias, or missing information)