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Explore Your Local Marine Environment: Adding the AI Layer

A Real World Protocol  ·  Field-Based STEM  ·  Department of Conservation  ·  Years 1–13  ·  Marine Environment
The Department of Conservation Habitat Heroes resource gives teachers everything needed to run a rigorous marine environment investigation. This companion adds the Real World Ready layer: AI prompts that extend student thinking from the beach into the classroom, and an Experience Trace Scale that makes that thinking visible and assessable. Use it alongside the DOC resource, not instead of it.
The DOC Habitat Heroes resource — Explore Your Local Marine Environment A complete inquiry unit covering biodiversity, human impact, and conservation action. Includes shore guides, data collection sheets, the Marine Metres Squared citizen science survey, and safety guidelines. Free to download from the Department of Conservation.

doc.govt.nz — Explore Your Local Marine Environment →
4 million km² New Zealand's marine territory — fourth largest in the world
15,000+ Known marine species in NZ waters
17,000 km Length of New Zealand's coastline
80% Of marine pollution that originates on land
PrepareDOC: Dive In
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Investigate at the siteDOC: Time to Explore
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AI as thinking partnerReal World Ready — below
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Trace and shareReal World Ready — below
Where this companion fits
1
Prepare

Use the DOC Dive In activities to build student hypotheses about the health of the local marine environment before the visit.

2
Investigate

Complete the Mm2 survey, the litter audit, and the dune plant activity as the DOC resource describes. Students photograph everything — this is the evidence they bring back.

3
Extend with AI

Back in the classroom, students bring their photographs, data, and observations to AI using the prompts below. AI is the thinking partner for what they found — not the source of what they should have found.

4
Make thinking visible

Students complete the Experience Trace Scale. This is the assessable evidence of thinking, sitting alongside the DOC data collection sheets.

5
Act

Use the DOC Planning for Action cycle to move from findings to conservation response. The thinking made visible in Step 4 informs and strengthens this final phase.

What to investigate at the site
Marine Metres Squared (Mm2) survey Count and record every organism visible within a one-metre-square quadrat at the shore. Repeat across different zones. The data is submitted to a national citizen science database and becomes part of a real monitoring programme.
Litter audit Identify, count, and categorise every piece of litter found at the site. Record material type, likely origin, and estimated age. The audit is the most direct evidence of land-to-sea pollution pathways students can collect themselves.
Dune plant identification Use the DOC shore guide to identify native and introduced species on the dune system. The ratio of native to introduced plants is a direct indicator of dune health and long-term stability.
Photography as field evidence Photograph organisms in situ, litter items with scale, dune plants, and the broader site. These photographs are the evidence students bring to AI in the classroom — the visual record of what they actually found.
For the teacher
A guided marine environment visit with an expert Field-Based STEM facilitator is the optimal version of this experience. Where that is not possible, the DOC resource and this companion together give any teacher the tools to run a rigorous and real Layer 1 investigation independently.
The Mm2 survey data students collect is submitted to a real national database. The investigation is not a simulation of citizen science — it is citizen science. Students leave knowing their data matters.
Download the complete DOC Habitat Heroes resource at doc.govt.nz. The safety guidelines and shore identification guides are essential preparation before the visit.

Back in the classroom: AI as thinking partner (Real World Ready Layer 2)

Years 1–6
What we foundShow AI a photograph from the marine environment. Ask: "What animals or plants can you see in this photograph? What do they need to survive?" Compare AI's answer with what students observed directly.
Healthy or unhealthy?Tell AI: "We found [number] types of creatures in our Mm2 survey. We also found [litter items]. Is this a healthy or unhealthy marine environment?" Did AI's answer match the hypothesis students formed before the visit?
The litter questionAsk AI: "How does rubbish get from the land into the ocean?" Then: "What happens to a seabird or fish that eats plastic?" Did students find evidence of this at their site?
What we can doAsk AI: "What are the three most important things students can do to help protect a marine environment near their school?" Compare AI's suggestions with the ideas from the DOC Planning for Action cycle.
Years 7–10
Biodiversity as indicatorAsk AI: "How does biodiversity indicate the health of a marine environment? What species are considered the most reliable indicators of estuarine or rocky shore health in New Zealand?" Test against what the Mm2 survey found.
Invertebrates and pollutionAsk AI: "Why are invertebrates used as pollution indicators in marine environments? What does a low diversity of invertebrate species tell us?" Apply this to the species students identified at the site.
Land to sea pathwaysAsk AI: "What are the main pathways through which land-based pollution reaches the marine environment? Which pathway is most relevant to [your location]?" What evidence of this did students find at the site?
Native dune plantsAsk AI: "Why are native dune plants more effective at stabilising sand dunes than introduced species? What threatens dune systems in New Zealand?" Compare to what students observed in the dune plant activity.
Years 11–13
Ecosystem servicesAsk AI: "What ecosystem services does a healthy marine environment provide, and what is the estimated economic value of those services in New Zealand?" Evaluate AI's response — where is it well-evidenced and where does it generalise?
Trophic cascadesAsk AI: "What is a trophic cascade and what evidence exists for trophic cascades in New Zealand marine ecosystems?" Apply this framework to the species composition found in the Mm2 survey. What is missing from the site that should be there?
Policy and kaitiakitangaAsk AI: "How does the concept of kaitiakitanga inform marine conservation policy in New Zealand? Where does it align with and differ from conventional scientific conservation frameworks?" Identify where AI's response is confident and where it is limited.
Climate and the coastAsk AI: "What are the projected impacts of sea level rise and ocean acidification on New Zealand's coastal marine habitats by 2050?" What evidence of environmental stress did students observe at their site, and how might that change over the next 30 years?
Experience Trace Scale — marine environment investigation
Level Years 1–6 Years 7–10 Years 11–13
1 I can describe one thing I saw at the marine environment that I couldn't have seen in a classroom. I can describe the biodiversity of the site and explain what it indicates about the health of the marine environment. I can characterise the site's ecological condition using the species composition, pollution indicators, and physical evidence collected.
2 I can say whether my hypothesis about the health of the marine environment was right and why. I can explain the connection between human land use surrounding the site and the evidence of marine health I observed. I can construct a causal argument linking land use, pollution pathways, and the observed ecological condition of the site.
3 I can say one thing AI told me and whether it matched what I found at the site. I can identify where AI's response matched the site evidence and where it generalised beyond what the site specifically showed. I can critically evaluate AI's response against the field data, identifying where AI's generalisations are insufficient for site-specific analysis.
4 I can say one action I want to take to help the marine environment and why I chose it. I can propose a conservation action that directly addresses the most significant threat identified at the site and justify the choice using field evidence. I can evaluate the feasibility and likely impact of conservation responses, drawing on field evidence, AI analysis, and the policy context of kaitiakitanga and marine reserve legislation.
5 I can say one question I have now that I didn't have before I visited the marine environment. I can identify what additional data would be needed to draw a more confident conclusion about the long-term health of the site. I can propose a longitudinal monitoring programme for the site, identify appropriate indicators, and explain what trend data would be needed to assess whether conservation actions are working.
Marine environment inquiry resource by Department of Conservation Te Papa Atawhai  ·  doc.govt.nz  ·  Real World Ready methodology by Field-Based STEM
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