Term+4

This term our big inquiry question is How can we work toward Ecological Sustainability ? Firstly we found out that **Ecology** is about plants and animals and **Sustainability** was to keep something going. So we decided that we were learning about sustaining or looking after our plants and animals. We then decided to focus mainly on our native creatures. These are some of the smaller questions we came up with as part of our investigations.

 What are our native creatures and why are they endangered? What are introduced species? Why did animals get bought here if they are pests? How have humans changed NZ? How did the moas go extinct? Why would we want to save our native creatures? What can we do about it? What is a reserve? Why is Mt Maungatautari so special?

In week 3 we went to visit Yarndleys Bush. Alan, from the Te Awamutu Museum came with us. He shared lots of great information with us. In the day before we went to the bush Alan came to our school and showed us many wonderful artifacts made by the maori people that lived here a long time ago. These artifacts were made from local materials, found naturally in the environment, such as wood (rakau) flax (harakeke) bone and shell.