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Working at a school on the Chatham Islands demands resilience, innovation and a deep sense of connection. Kirsten McDougall spoke with staff at Te One School to find out what it means to educate in one of the most remote communities in Aotearoa.
At Arakura School in Wainuiomata, Lower Hutt, lunchtime isn’t just about food – it’s about community, connection and learning. Instead of outsourcing school lunches, staff and tamariki grow, prepare and serve nutritious kai together. The entire school gathers each day to share a meal, turning lunchtime into a rich learning experience.
How can educators tautoko and empower young people to feel equipped to lead in the changing climate they will inherit? Researchers from the University of Canterbury and Ngāi Tahu have been working with rangatahi Māori and Pasifika in Ōtautahi to explore the ways ākonga view climate change. Ako finds out about the project.
He hoa haaere te maanawatia aa Mataariki i te whakanuia te maramataka Maaori. Kei te whai ake aa Ako i ngaa koorero oo te waa mai ngaa kura puta noa i te motu, me ngaa painga oo roto.
Alongside celebrations of Mataariki there has been a growing interest in the Maaori calendar. Ako finds out how schools around the country are benefitting from following the maramataka.
Conor Twyford, the new Community Organiser at NZEI Te Riu Roa, talks about the work she’s doing and how she’s supporting members to get active on climate change. “If we’re going to tackle the big issues like climate change,” Twyford says, “we need to do it in community, we need to do it together.”
As Taranaki makes a “Just Transition” from fossil fuels to a carbon-neutral economy, educators, whānau and tamariki must transition as well.
For many communities in Aotearoa the impacts of climate change are already being felt. Ako talks to educators about floods, droughts and hurricanes, and how they get through.
Early childhood centres are educating and empowering tamariki on how to make their world a better place. The work is changing mindsets and behaviour far beyond centre walls.
As mātauranga Māori is more widely recognised, schools and kura are using Te Maramataka to connect with the environment and themselves.
Once you identify that you want to take climate action, how do you get everyone on board? Ako asks educators who have succeeded how they created change.
As a political scientist interested in children’s futures and serving on the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), an international science body that produces regular reports on the state of the world’s climate, I worry a lot about our changing climate and the implications for children and future generations.
Where I come from, the kererū is revered. A food for royalty and women. Our kaumātua describe how the sky would get dark as clouds of kererū flew overhead, sounding like a loud helicopter as they flapped their wings through our echoing valleys. This memory from long before I was born was a sign of abundance.
I’m not sure if it’s the increase in grassroots movements, or the current government’s desire to highlight climate change, but in the education sector there’s a real thirst to be lifting our game.
Reviews of eleven brilliant new books for children and adults with an environmental theme.
Te Whāriki is being used more in the first years of school with positive results and schools forming networks to implement ideas. Some early childhood teachers are moving to primary to take advantage of the change.
The Fairfield Project, administered by the Kukutāruhe Education Trust, is a restoration project with a difference – its vision is to develop, in the Fairfield Community (in Hamilton), an Ecological and Education Centre with a focus on all facets of environmental education and practice aimed at a sustainable future.