Teaching kids to care
Ma¯ ori knowledge steps in where the science falls short
Ascience programme teaches Far North teenagers how to understand and care for their environment, combining both Ma¯ori and mainstream knowledge.
Noho Taiao o Te Rarawa has been running successfully for over 10 years and is engaging Crown agencies as well as tohunga (experts) to teach 13 to 18 year olds how to observe nature.
“Noho Taiao is about getting children into the environment, particularly teenage group,” Mina PomarePeita, one of the initiators and Te Kura Taumata o Panguru principal, said.
“It’s not really cool for them to go into the environment. So the first part is the get them to love the environment. Only when they love it, they get to look after it properly.”
As part of the science camp, the students engage in a range of activities, including bird monitoring, water testing, reading the stars and planting.
Noho Taiao is engaging both tohunga such as Rereata Makiha, a veteran broadcaster, and Rangi Ma¯ta¯mua, an indigenous studies academic, as well as staff from the councils and the Department of Conservation.
“Most of the science knowledge comes from Crown research institutes or Crown agents such as DoC or Northland Regional Council,” Pomare-Peita said.
But she says with its clinical approach, conventional science doesn’t teach youth well how to observe and connect with the environment.
“That’s where ma¯tauranga Ma¯ori (Ma¯ori knowledge) comes into play alongside science and pa¯keha¯ knowledge. We come from a culture of pu¯ra¯kau (stories) where we’re claiming or knowledge around stories,” Pomare-Peita said.
The success in the programmes lies in the combination of ma¯ tauranga Ma¯ori with its pu¯ra¯kau and mainstream science which together create a holistic understanding of the environment.
“It is not for us to say what is right and what is wrong, it’s for the next generation to work with what we’re giving them.
“My colleagues and I felt that our children were only getting one side of the science.”
Noho Taiao was born out of concern that future generations wouldn’t know how to look after their land.
“As part of our land claims, our land came back to us but our children had never been outside to plant the garden or dig a hole,” Pomare-Peita said.
Doug Te Wake who works for the regional council and teaches at Noho Taiao says caring for land has to be taught from a young age.
“What does it look like to be the managers?
“If you miss out a couple of generations and you need to start an age where you can influence learning and plant that seed to aspire to be leaders within the environmental field,” Te Wake said.
“We need to teach our young people to be the managers on assets that will forever remain.”
Noho Taiao receives overwhelmingly positive feedback from students and several graduates return to teach and support the programme.