Young conservationist one with nature
When Penelope Te Pania grows up, she wants to plant trees all over the world.
The eight-year-old Nawton School pupil from Hamilton said too many people are cutting down trees and she wants to make a difference.
The young environmentalist has spent the year researching, planting and caring for a rongoa garden at her school – all in her own time.
Recently she was named Young Plant Conservationist of the year for all her hard work.
The New Zealand Plant Conservation Network (NZPCN) award acknowledges outstanding contribution to the conservation of native plants for anyone under the age of 18.
Penelope is a member of the Nawton School Enviro group Pride Heroes, which has been looking after the school’s Ma¯ori medicinal garden.
One of Penelope’s main jobs is to complete making identifying signs for all the plants in the garden.
She knows all of the plants and trees without the signs because she has done so much research.
‘‘Sometimes I have to remind the teachers which ones are which.’’
Through the garden, Penelope has learnt a lot about the plants and their traditional medicinal uses.
‘‘Mahoe is good for fevers and tummy aches; kanuka is good for colds and a sore puku.
‘‘Puriri is good for sore throats, back pain and sprains.
‘‘Totara is good tummy aches, skin conditions and fevers; and titoki is good for sore eyes, wounds, joint pain and chapped skin.’’
A good remedy for bad breath is to boil the inner bark of manuka and use the liquid for a mouthwash, she said.
Penelope has a big patch at home she wants to make into a garden. She just has to convince her dad.
‘‘I’d like to plant some pretty flowers, strawberries and vegetables, like carrots and cabbage.’’
She enjoys gardening because she feels good when she is helping the environment, she said.
‘‘I really was proud of what I achieved in the Rongoa gardens and how hard I worked.’’
Penelope was presented with a certificate and a print of a painting of Trilepidea adamsii – an extinct mistletoe that is the emblem of NZPCN.