Our kaupapa is sustainability through learning, to bring about a healthier, peaceful, more equitable world through creativity and action.

To us at Toimata sustainability means living in a country where people work with positive energy to connect with each other, their cultural identity and their land.

It means developing livelihoods and an ecological economy that restores the environment and creates resilient, caring communities.

It means the regeneration of vibrant ecosystems and communities in which people nurture the environment, value indigenous knowledge and celebrate diversity so that everyone thrives.

We believe this can be achieved if we learn together in empowering, creative and action-oriented ways.

Our Guiding Values

At the heart of our organisation are some core values that guide the content of our programmes, our actions, and our relationships with others.

Empowerment

of individuals and communities, to be strong in our own identities and have the capabilities and confidence to be change-makers in our communities.

Inter-generational connection

to allow old wisdom to come together with new ideas to produce inspired solutions and strong communities.

The revival and survival of Te Reo Māori

and the integration of Māori perspectives and concepts as sustainability solutions unique to our country.

Manaakitanga

where people are cared for and nourished throughout their learning, their work and their lives.

Diversity and creativity

in people and ideas, embracing different ways of being, and working with our head, heart and hands, to stimulate individual and collective innovation,

Restoring ecosystems

by undertaking environmental practices and actions in all settings in which we work and live.

Whanaungatanga

the interconnectedness of all living things, including the physical, spiritual and emotional connection between humans, plants, animals and the wider environment.

Aroha

for each other and the world we live in, to bring about the healing and deep respect that a sustainable future is based upon.

Te Aho Tū Roa

A programme in Te Reo Māori working with kōhanga/puna reo, kura, wharekura and communities that embraces Māori culture, language and wisdom. Te Aho Tū Roa is the cord that connects and sustains us, joining us to those who have gone before and to those who will come after us. As a programme, Te Aho Tū Roa seeks to strengthen connection:

‘People to People’

– including past, current and future generations

‘People to Place’

– embracing every element including the physical, spiritual, and living aspects of our world.

 

Te Aho Tū Roa supports kōhanga/puna reo, kura, wharekura and hapori (community) learning through Te Reo Māori  by providing:

  • Whakangungu  (professional development)
  • A range of rauemi (resources)
  • Connections with Te Marautanga o Aotearoa (Curriculum for Māori medium schooling) & NZQA
  • Networking opportunities
  • Poutautoko  (local liaison support)
  • Opportunities for intergenerational learning

Te Aho Tū Roa is in a development phase at both the national level and in the regions, with new team members bringing their skills and abilities to the kaupapa.   Our focus is to empower participants by developing capacity, providing support and creating and strengthening networks.

Nationally, Te Aho Tū Roa is attracting very talented young people who want to work in the kaupapa. This has created opportunities to develop exciting ways of working with young people to strengthen identity and connection with the environment.  Other developments include providing our Tuākana (post-school youth) with waka hourua experiences, facilitation skills, and the continued expansion of our network to include kaumātua, who are going back into the kura to share their knowledge

Regionally, we have developed a support structure by advancing a specific ”Poutautoko” model – community support people who work in different ways with a diverse range of Te Aho Tū Roa  participants.  Poutautoko hui have enabled the role to be co-designed, and capacity has been built in the Poutautoko team nationally.

Visit the Te Aho Tū Roa website

Enviroschools

An action-based education programme where young people plan, design and implement sustainability projects and become catalysts for change in their families, and within the wider New Zealand community. Enviroschools engages with children, young people and their communities through the formal education system of early childhood education (ECE) centres, primary and secondary schools.

Built on a collaborative organisational model, Enviroschools is supported regionally by over 80 agencies, with councils making up the core of the network. The regional partner network providers local facilitation and regional leadership.

Enviroschools was launched as a nationally available programme in 2001. Since then the network has continued to grow and expand. It now embraces over 1600 schools and ECE centres, representing nearly half of all schools and around 15% of the large ECE sector.

Some key aspects of the Enviroschools approach are:

Enviroschools is a facilitated process.
Every Enviroschool is supported by a Facilitator who works with schools and centres to motivate, advise, support and guide their vision for a sustainable future.

Enviroschools is a holistic framework for learning.
A whole school/centre approach that follows a process of exploration, planning, action and reflection about sustainability. This learning process empowers students to take meaningful action in their own environment.

Enviroschools is a long-term journey.
There is no set time in which to ‘do’ Enviroschools. Each journey is unique and usually develops from small beginnings, gaining strength and depth over time.

Enviroschools is grounded in Te Ao Māori.
The programme honours and celebrates the value of indigenous knowledge in enriching and guiding learning and action.

Enviroschools is about sharing knowledge.
Local, regional and national Enviroschools events provide opportunities for all participants to increase their learning about sustainability, from each other and the diverse range of expertise in the wider community.

Visit the Enviroschools website

Holding the vision of Te Aho Tū Roa and Enviroschools