Rangatahi and GIS
GIS work can involve maps, drones, environmental monitoring, software, emergency management, planning, history, data analysis, field work and storytelling. You do not need to choose a career before trying it.
Start free
A useful first setup is:
- QGIS on a laptop or desktop
- public data from GIS data for Aotearoa
- the Matawhenua GIS Starter Kit
- QField if you want to take a QGIS project outside
Skills worth learning
Learn these by doing real mahi:
- navigate a map and understand layers
- find and check data
- edit points, lines and polygons
- label places clearly
- join a spreadsheet to spatial data
- make a simple map layout
- collect an observation in the field
- compare old and new imagery
- explain where the information came from
The QGIS practical course teaches these through Aotearoa and Māori GIS examples rather than generic supermarket buffers.
Five first projects
- Map an awa you know and add public environmental information.
- Compare historical and current aerial photographs of a local place.
- Build a simple map of public marae locations in a district and examine travel distances.
- Investigate official and historical ingoa wāhi using the Gazetteer and old maps.
- Collect ten field observations about planting, access, rubbish, weeds or another local taiao question.
Where GIS can lead
GIS skills are used in local and central government, iwi and Māori organisations, environmental work, surveying, planning, emergency management, engineering, utilities, conservation, research, software and consulting.
The useful foundation is not one software brand. It is understanding place, data, sources and how to turn a question into a map or analysis somebody can actually use.
Next steps
Last reviewed: 26 August 2026