Te mārama ki ngā tikanga tiaki taiao

Understanding conservation

Understand our unique bio-geographic history in the context of te ao māori (the māori worldview) and the western concept of conservation. These two worldviews explore what is gone and what remains, and how we can heal and restore the whenua (land).

Aotearoa / New Zealand: a unique beginning

Understand why Aotearoa / New Zealand is so ecologically unique, home to extraordinary plants, animals and ecosystems.

The discovery of Aotearoa

Find out about the impact of human settlement in Aotearoa / New Zealand after Māori discovered Aotearoa around AD 950.

European settlement and acclimatisation

Learn how the arrival of European settlers altered Aotearoa / New Zealand’s ecology permanently.

Conservation in Aotearoa / New Zealand today

Understand the factors that have shaped conservation in Aotearoa and why we need to protect and restore our environment more than ever today.