Geothermal Ecosystem Education

We celebrated Geothermal Week 2025 by launching our new Geothermal Ecosystem education resources, running a free teacher professional development session, and a student leadership team session at Craters of the Moon. Local ecologist Alana Delich - who is an expert in geothermal plants - supported the sessions and the development of the resources. We focused on the unique flora and fauna that survives in Taupō's harsh geothermal environment. Some of these plants and fungi are found nowhere else in the world!

We hope that teachers came away with knowledge, activities, and resources that they can use to run a class trip to Craters of the Moon or other geothermal area in Taupō. They are always welcome to contact us to support with this, as we can run guided tours of the area thanks to the support of Craters of the Moon.

The sessions were lots of fun and filled with learning about interesting things like ‘dog poo’ fungi that helps geothermal kānuka to be the only woody plant species that can grow in hot geothermal soil.

If you’re interested in learning more, please check out the Geothermal Ecosystem Education Resource that we designed specifically for Craters of the Moon that we have made available online for free.  It is also available in reo Māori thanks to funding from WRC.