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Kauri dieback

Kauri dieback is a disease that is unique to kauri trees. It is caused by Phytophthora agathidicida (PA), a microorganism that spreads through soil. The word Phytophthora literally means ‘plant destroyer’ – and for kauri that contract the disease, the result is almost always fatal.

This Connected article provides information about the kauri dieback disease cycle and how it spreads. It also explains how mātauranga Māori and rongoā may provide insight on how to protect kauri from the deadly spores.

Citizen science and public action

Citizen scientists and innovative Auckland students have been helping scientists with their investigations and data collection. Visitors to Aotearoa New Zealand’s unique kauri ngahere (forests) can limit the spread of kauri dieback by using the Department of Conservation cleaning stations to remove PA spores from their shoes and by staying on tracks and boardwalks.

Both initiatives support the science capability ‘Engage with science’ and demonstrate how individuals can help keep our ngahere healthy.

Teacher support materials

Check your school resource area for the article from the 2017 level 4 Connected journal ‘Where to next’, download it as a Google slide presentation or order it from the Ministry of Education.

The teacher support material (TSM) can be downloaded from Tāhūrangi (Word and PDF files available). TSM resources include the science learning activities ‘What is happening in our own backyard?’, ‘Fighting Phytophthora’ and ‘Sharing the knowledge’ (mātauranga Māori). The activities support the science capabilities ‘Engage with science’ and ‘Gather and interpret data’. Literacy strategies support students to get the most out of the text and include important skills useful when approaching scientific vocabulary. The 'reusable content' links to Google Drive folders containing text and images from the article.

Published: 19 March 2019Updated: 18 January 2023