Federated Farmers of New Zealand
The Ministry of Education has made a new Climate Change resource available to teachers on the Te Kete Ipurangi (TKI) website. This is not compulsory but is a ready-made unit of work designed to be picked up and taught by teachers. The “Climate Change: Prepare today, live well tomorrow” unit:
- Has significant information missing which would provide important context about New Zealand’s emissions
- It makes food choice recommendations that are not supported from a health perspective
- It refers to overly simplistic and inaccurate messaging
- It refers students and teachers to websites that are not intended for primary school age students and/or are not appropriate for the NZ context
- And it encourages activism.
In its current form it is not appropriate for use by teachers in classrooms.
Sign this petition to demand that the “Climate Change: Prepare today, live well tomorrow” is removed from the TKI website (and any other distribution forms) until such time as it has been reviewed and amended to ensure completeness, accuracy, and relevance to the New Zealand context.
In particular:
1. Provide information about the short-lived nature of methane in the atmosphere, and the difference between emissions and warming
2. Provide context around New Zealand’s agriculture emissions which are largely methane-based
3. Encourage critical assessment of “food miles” and “buy local” messaging which is often simplistic and inaccurate
4. Remove suggestions around food choices, beyond “avoid waste”
5. Remove teaching of activism
6. Ensure all material is age-appropriate and relevant for the New Zealand context