Marine Reserves - Protecting Our Big Blue Backyard
Aotearoa New Zealand has one of the most unique marine environments in the world. This article explores our marine habitats and reserves and the challenges they face to stay safe, healthy, and biodiverse.
About this resource
Series: School Journal Level 3 June 2023
Reading year level: 4
Topics: biodiversity, climate change, environment, fish, habitats, kaimoana, kaitiakitanga, mahinga mātaitai, marine species, ocean, overfishing, pollution, protection, scientists, sea, shellfish
Marine Reserves: Protecting Our Big Blue Backyard
Words by Laura Goodall
Illustrations by Giselle Clarkson
Use this resource to discover more about Aotearoa New Zealand's unique marine environments. Learn about marine reserves (inclduing where they are and why they're needed) and meet some of the marine inhabitants.
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More from this series
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School Journal Level 3 June 2023
Inside this school journal are two stories (Fresh; The Monster That Swallowed the Moon), one poem (The Stinging Moon), one student writing (Draining the Swamp), one personal essay (The Sea and Me), and three articles (He Rāhui; Marine Reserves; Give Forever).
1 of 8He Rāhui
This article examines the rapid decline in scallop numbers due to overfishing and pollution and the efforts being made to recover and save the species.
2 of 8Give Forever
Zuhaib Abbas Bangash arrived in New Zealand in 2013 with just a few hundred dollars in his pocket. Eventually, he found a job and a home. Today he owns three kebab shops, and every week he gives away over two hundred meals to people in need.
3 of 8Fresh
When Emily goes to the beach on a hot day with her larger-than-life Māmā, she is dismayed at the muddy, polluted beach and that they can’t swim. Emily sees Māmā in a new light when she chats in Cook Islands Māori to a large family group, and they begin to dance together.
4 of 8The Monster That Swallowed the Moon
Once upon a time, there lived a hero by the name of Finch. Finch wasn’t a super-hero kind of hero, with muscles on muscles. Finch was the everyday kind – the sort that does all they can and hopes it will be enough.
5 of 8The Stinging Moon
A poem about finding a jellyfish.
6 of 8Draining the Swamp
In their search for a new home, a group of pūkeko encounter massive metal monsters and other pūkeko until they find a safe place.
7 of 8The Sea and Me
Dave Lowe began surfing at a young age and later became an environmental scientist. He was one of the first scientists in the world to gather evidence of climate change.
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