a)	Percentage of students mentioning each activity.	b)	Percentage of students mentioning each activity.
	Plant native plants 78% Provide food supply 49% Remove predators 35% Develop water supply 25% Remove noxious weeds 14% Remove sheep 13% Restrict visitor access   8%		Supplementary feeding 32% Stop predators 25% Monitor birds 16% Male and female birds 12% Restrict visitors   6% Nesting boxes   5%

 

In Question a) it appeared that many students did not realise that the isolation of an off shore island provided some level of protection for native birds. Students often suggested fencing the island would be a necessary step to take to make the island suitable for native birds. If students respond in this way probe further by asking such questions as "Why do you think it would be necessary to fence the island?" or "Why is an island a suitable place to make into a sanctuary?" "Do you know of any islands that are fenced to protect native birds?" There are some islands such as Great Barrier where only part of the island is a reserve, or others such as Somes/Matiu where certain parts are still being grazed and so are fenced. Some mainland sanctuaries protected by fences, such as Karori Sanctuary in Wellington, are referred to as "mainland islands". Students could be using such background information when suggesting islands need fencing.

Also in question a) many students thought open spaces would need to be provided to make the island a suitable environment for New Zealand's endangered birds. Although this was marked incorrect in the trials further questioning could be useful to establish why students think this. There are, for instance, some endangered native birds such as the takahe that require grassland rather than bush.

In question b) many students thought that for birds to be able to live and breed successfully people would have to provide nesting material for them or even help them make nests. In the trials this response was counted as incorrect although providing nesting boxes was counted as a correct response.

It is possible that some students who responded that people needed to help birds make nests might have actually meant the provision of nesting boxes (a correct response) and also that some who explicitly mentioned the provision of nesting boxes may have thought these were necessary for birds to live in (an incorrect response) rather than for breeding purposes. Again further questioning around this area could provide useful discussion to clarify students' understandings. A useful starter question could be something like "What is the role of people in protecting our endangered birds?" Look to see whether students focus on how people can create suitable environments for birds to meet their needs or whether they think people need to take a more direct roles.