Social SciencesFreePrintable

Whangaroa Harbour Kaitiakitanga

A free social sciences worksheet ready for your classroom. Open in Kuraplan to grab the print-ready PDF, customize it for your students, or generate a fresh version in seconds.

Download now

Name:Date:

Whangaroa Harbour Kaitiakitanga

Read the field notes, then complete the activities. Use evidence from the information provided. Think about how people can care for the harbour and its living things over time.

A harbour and its people

Whangaroa Harbour is in Northland, in Aotearoa New Zealand. Its sheltered waters, steep hills and many inlets shape how people and wildlife use the area. The harbour is part of the rohe of local Māori communities, who hold deep connections with the land and water. Kaitiakitanga is a responsibility that can involve caring for the environment and making decisions that protect it over time. Field notes from a community visit: • Rain can wash loose soil from bare slopes into streams and then into the harbour. • Rubbish left near the shore can be carried into the water by wind or rain. • Mangroves and other plants along the water’s edge can provide habitat and help hold soil in place. • People use the harbour for activities such as boating and fishing. Local guidance and rules help people care for places and wildlife.

Read the harbour evidence

Answer using the field notes. More than one sensible observation may be possible where a question asks you to explain.

1.In your own words, what does kaitiakitanga mean in the field notes?

2.According to the field notes, name one feature that could help reduce soil washing into the harbour, and explain how it might help.

3.Which sequence best shows how loose soil on a bare slope could reach the harbour after rain?

Bare slope → rain washes soil into a stream → stream carries it to the harbour
Harbour → rain carries soil uphill → soil reaches the stream
Boat ramp → mangroves → rain makes the hill steeper

4.The field notes say rubbish left near the shore can be carried into the water by wind or rain. Describe one action a visitor could take to stop rubbish reaching the water.

5.True or false: The field notes say mangroves provide habitat but do not help hold soil in place.

TrueFalse

6.Match each harbour feature with a possible care benefit.

Mangroves and water-edge plants
Rubbish bin beside the track
Local guidance and rules

Gives visitors a place to put rubbish
Can provide habitat and help hold soil
Help people use places and wildlife carefully

7.According to the field notes, name one way a visitor could learn to use the harbour and care for its wildlife.

8.Choose one possible harm to the harbour from the field notes. Explain one way it could affect people, plants or animals.

9.A group has time for just one project: planting native plants beside a stream, or picking up litter near the shore. Which would you choose first, and what evidence from the field notes supports your choice?

10.Write a realistic kaitiakitanga commitment for a visit to a harbour or beach. Explain how it could help care for the place.