He Rāhui by Arielle Kauaeroa Monk (Muaūpoko, Ngāti Raukawa ki te Tonga) is an informative non-fiction text that explores how rāhui are used as a tikanga Māori practice to protect the environment and ensure the sustainability of natural resources. Focusing on the protection of tipa (scallops) at Opito Bay and Kūaotunu Bay on the Coromandel Peninsula, the text explains how Ngāti Hei responded to the impacts of overfishing, dredging, pollution, and climate change. Through the voices of kaumātua and community members, the text traces how a voluntary rāhui was placed, how it gained public and government support, and how it became a legally enforced ban to allow the seabed and shellfish to recover. Grounded in real events and Māori perspectives, the text highlights collective action, responsibility, and the role of tikanga in caring for te taiao.  

The text is ideal for integrated learning across literacy, science, and social sciences, supporting inquiry into kaitiakitanga, sustainability, community decision-making, and how Māori customary practices guide environmental protection in Aotearoa New Zealand.

This pack contains a range of response activities complete with activity explainer videos for exploring thinking skills and developing emotional understandings and compassionate inquiry including:

• Blooms Higher Order Thinking activities
• Book Club guide for deepening text discussion
• A range of activities to explore emotional understanding, compassionate inquiry, empathy development, vocabulary and developing skills for self and co-regulation.

Curriculum Phase: Phase 3

Year Level: Year 6

English (NZC Levels 3–4):
reading for meaning and critical thinking, identifying key ideas across sections, analysing author perspective and voice, synthesising information from text and visuals, building topic-specific vocabulary

Science – Living World:
human impact on ecosystems, sustainability, marine environments, conservation and protection

Social Sciences – Aotearoa New Zealand Histories:
tikanga Māori, rāhui, kaitiakitanga, community action, continuity and change, decision-making, identity and belonging

Text type:
Non-fiction, informational report, explanatory text, case study

Key words include:
rāhui, kaitiaki, kaitiakitanga, tipa, scallops, kaimoana, dredging, overfishing, sustainability, tikanga, mana whenua, Ngāti Hei, Opito Bay, Kūaotunu Bay, Coromandel Peninsula, community action, government decision-making, conservation, marine environment, seabed, pollution, climate change, Tangaroa, tangata whenua, tangata Tiriti, te taiao, resource management, Aotearoa New Zealand