Ngā Tohu o te Taiao — Source-Audit Cards
Lesson 3: Mātauranga Māori & Climate Knowledge · Activity 2 · Years 9–10
These cards are starting examples to investigate, not a universal Māori tohu list. A tohu gets its meaning from people, practice and place. Before treating any example below as a tohu, identify the iwi or hapū source that names it for a particular rohe and record what that source actually says it signals.
🌸 Plant observations
- Kōwhai flowering
- Pōhutukawa flowering
- Harakeke growth and condition
Source-check: who names this observation as a tohu, for which rohe, and what change have they actually documented?
🦅 Bird & animal observations
- Kererū or tūī movement
- Kōkako calls or presence
- Kahawai schools or timing
Source-check: what relationship or seasonal pattern does the holder of this knowledge describe, and what evidence shows it changing?
🌊 Ocean & water observations
- Pāua, kina or toheroa condition and distribution
- Tuna migration or timing
- Water temperature, flow, rainfall or mahinga kai condition
Source-check: keep the place, holder and source attached to the observation. Do not turn a local tohu into a national rule.
Mahi Takirua · Audit the Tohu
- Choose one: select one observation category above. It is not yet a settled tohu claim.
- Find the holder: use an iwi or hapū source, or NIWA's Ngā Tohu o te Taiao — Māori environmental indicators material, to identify a place-specific example.
- Record precisely: name the iwi or hapū, rohe, source, what the source says the tohu signals, and any change it documents. If the source gives no timing or numerical shift, do not invent one.
- Compare without extracting: what can long-term place-based observation contribute, and what can instrument or satellite data contribute? Keep each source's authority visible.
Ngā Puna · Source Boundary
Start with NIWA — Ngā Tohu o te Taiao — Māori environmental indicators — and first-party iwi or hapū environmental-monitoring sources. Te Ara can provide wider context. Tohu are place-specific taonga: preserve the named holder, rohe and source with every claim, and do not infer a numerical climate shift unless the cited source gives one.