New Zealand bush ecosystems
In this activity, students build a food web that represents the Aotearoa New Zealand bush ecosystem. Students use images of organisms within the ecosystem to explore the relationships between them.
By the end of this activity, students should be able to:
understand the difference between a food chain and a food web
describe some of the relationships between organisms within the New Zealand bush ecosystem
explain why birds have an important role in the New Zealand bush ecosystem
explain possible outcomes of an imbalance of diversity within our ecosystems.
Tūī feeding
Tūī and other birds (bellbirds, kererū and weka) feed on fruit from native trees. These birds assist in the seed dispersal process, allowing seed germination to occur.
Download the Word file (see link below) for:
introduction/background notes
what you need
what to do
discussion questions
ecosystem organisms – student worksheet
organism cards
food web example.
Related content
Read these articles for some background information:
We re-purposed the popular Building Science Concepts Book 3: Birds: Structure, Function, and Adaptation with an article and interactive linking this great resource with Hub content.
Check out this collection of food web related resources we curated on Pinterest.
Activity ideas
Try these related activities with your ākonga:
Making a food web (focus on the Antarctic ecosystem, but cold be adapted)
