House of Science has launched an educational kit for primary school students, taking a mātauranga Māori approach to forest health and environmental issues such as myrtle rust and kauri dieback.

Activities in Te Ora o te Wao-Forest Health kit allow students to explore native forests through audio soundscapes, compare giant trees such as kauri and pōhutukawa and learn to conserve forests by dissecting seeds, studying tree growth and understanding diseases such as kauri dieback.

The kit includes Scion’s interactive app E Heke e Heka! and the augmented reality tool Mātaihia Te Heka! that help rangatahi identify other threats such as myrtle rust.

House of Science chief executive and founder Chris Duggan said the kits gave young learners practical knowledge to understand and help protect New Zealand’s native ecosystems, inspiring the next generation to become stewards of our forests and environment.

“By age 10, most children have formed a strong impression of careers they can see themselves doing. If science hasn’t been part of their lives by then, the chance they’ll follow this pathway is slim.

“Empowering primary school teachers to deliver engaging science lessons will ensure a workforce with the necessary skills to embrace and support the future of work.”

Te Ora o te Wao-Forest Health kit is part of a library of hands-on, bilingual science resource kits covering a range of topics, including electricity, climate change and soil.

“Careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics are at the heart of many future workforce requirements and underpin the transition to a climate-resilient, sustainable, low-emission economy,” Duggan said.

Katerina Pihera-Ridge, Scion’s portfolio lead for restoration, protection and Mauri o Te Waonui a Tāne, said the inclusion of E Heke e Heka! and Mātaihia Te Heka! in the kit was significant.

“It will make the app directly available to all House of Science member schools and kura, presenting myrtle rust science in te reo Māori and English and allowing young learners to engage with this environmental knowledge in a relevant and interactive way.”

Pihera-Ridge led the development of the app after recognising a significant gap in accessible resources about myrtle rust, particularly in te reo.

“We identified a need to make scientific knowledge more accessible to whānau, communities and rangatahi,” she said. “This app offers an interactive learning experience that helps young people understand the impact of myrtle rust and empowers them in their roles as kaitiaki.”

The kit is guided by the BioHeritage National Science Challenge’s Oranga–Wellbeing programme, which combines Māori perspectives on wellbeing with scientific strategies for biosecurity, ecosystem health and resilience.

“We have 20 House of Science branches serving over 700 schools across most of the North Island and Christchurch, and our kits have the power to reach more than 170,000 school children each year,” Duggan said.

Andrea Acton, a teacher at Bethlehem School who recently trialled Te Ora o te Wao-Forest Health kit, says it was an outstanding resource that captivated the students' interest. “We integrated it seamlessly across the curriculum, which inspired some of the best creative writing students have done all year. They also created posters full of newly learned facts and are thoroughly enjoying this hands-on, science-based approach to learning.”

Te Ora o te Wao-Forest Health kit marks the second collaboration between Scion and House of Science. In 2022, they partnered to create A Load of Rubbish, a kit that introduced students to the six Rs of resource management – rethink, refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle and repair.