Education - Te Mata Park Trust

Education in Te Mata Park

WE ARE KAITIAKI

We invite individuals, schools, and organisations to join us in learning about the maunga and how to care for it. Through environmental education, we aspire to stimulate an interest in the natural world and encourage sustainability, regeneration, and community. The vision of the Park is to empower young people to become kaitiaki (guardians) of their local whenua (land) through education, native forest restoration, and other projects that create connectivity between the natural world and our human communities.

ALL ARE WELCOME

All schools and organisations are free to engage with the Park and learn from all it has to offer. We also offer guided hikoi (walks) for school groups with the support of Enviroschools, or we can assist with planning your hikoi and activities for those who wish to guide themselves. Contact Eleanor Lonergan for more information.

Activities might include:

finding fossils and learning how they came to be
walking through native bush identifying and observing flora and fauna
visiting a moa cave
building huts and creating nature art
discussing what it means to be kaitiaki of our whenua

Learning guides are accessible on this web page, created in collaboration with Enviroschools.

Learning Guides and Activities

These guides are teacher and parent resources for enriching your experiences in different areas of the Park. Each guide has accompanying activities, discovery questions, and links to other resources to deepen your learning. Created by Sara Shaw and Sonya Sedgwick with the support of local experts and educators, especially Mike Lusk. The Rongoā Guide was written by rongoā practitioner Tyne-Marie Nelson, the leader of the Te Mata Rongoā Maara.

Source: Mike Lusk

NATIVE FORESTS: WEBB’S BUSH

WOOD WIDE WEB: REDWOODS

Source: Mike Lusk

NATURE’S RECYCLERS: FUNGI

TE MATA RONGOĀ MAARA

Haere mai | Welcome to Te Mata Park and its famous peak, one of the most loved and visited places in Hawke’s Bay.

Gifted in perpetuity to the community in 1927 and managed by a small group of volunteer trustees, with appreciated help from local councils and the community, the Park is a cultural, historical and recreational treasure.

Five times winner of the prestigious international green space award.

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Ours Forever | Te Mata Tō Tatou Ake Tonu Atu