The vision
Matariki is always a big event in the Māpua School calendar and in order that we truly celebrate this time each June, to reflect on the old year and welcome in the new, we have been building our knowledge and understanding of traditional Māori approaches and stories and developing our living landscape in response with the idea that we would be able to live some of the traditional values associated with Matariki.
Sowing the seeds for knowledge
Observing, counting and collating data in the māra kai.
5 years ago, we created the first school kūmara garden. We took a low key, ‘round the back of the classroom’ approach as a nature of science investigation. The kūmara slips (tipu) were donated by school whānau. The joy and engagement this created inspired a second year of planting and harvest and that too was successful. We were hooked on growing kūmara from here!
In 2022 a māra rongoā garden was planted, and tamariki learnt about these traditional food storage houses and decided they wanted one to store their kūmara harvest in preparation for the school hangi.
In 2023 other cultural crops such as rīwai (Māori potato), hue and kamokamo were grown as was our knowledge around how to prepare and care for our gardens and a pātaka kai was built.
In 2023 and 2024 the kumara harvest was divided 3 ways. A third is eaten and shared with the school community, a third is saved for seed stock, and a third stored and cooked in the Matariki Hangi.
Empowered learners
The process of growing, harvesting and eating kai is an excellent all year-round learning opportunity. For some children it is the thing that fires them up to learn and gives them a reason to come to school. It is also a perfect opportunity to bring life to the Aotearoa NZ Histories curriculum.
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Hue planted along the fence line.
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Checking the productivity and size.
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Careful harvest using traditional tools.
Many of us learnt alongside each other on this journey, sharing what we knew, remembering or relearning and being open to the challenges. Now that many people in the community know about the māra rongoā and māra kai, we are being approached for advice and the sharing and trading of crops and knowledge. It’s not uncommon to strike up a chat outside the school fence that runs past the garden and before you know it you are trading plants of key ideas and knowledge about how to grow the plants.
Our enquiry has attracted mana whenua and community engagement and involvement and opened up opportunities. It has added depth and diversity to the culture of our kura.
Banner image: On-going mahi taking place in the pātaka, māra rongoā and māra kai is part of school life.
