From the sandy dunes of Tomahawk Beach to the reeds of the lagoon, Ōtepoti UNESCO City of Literature was thrilled to partner with Enviroschools to publish a collection of poems to celebrate the 2024 Enviroschools Ōtepoti Dunedin Year 4–6 Hui.
The 2024 Enviroschools Ōtepoti Dunedin Year 4–6 Hui was coordinated by DCC Enviroschools Facilitators Jennie Upton and Tess Mackay, and hosted at Grants Braes AFC with support from local experts. It brought together ākonga (students) and kaiako (teachers) from eleven primary schools to explore local biodiversity as part of The Great Southern Bioblitz: an international biodiversity survey across several designated Southern Hemisphere areas in spring.
The event was much more than a day outdoors: it was a full-circle exploration of nature through the Enviroschools Action Learning Cycle. This framework guided each school as they investigated a specific area of biodiversity—birdlife, insects, native plants, or mokomoko (lizards). From identifying What lives at your school? to imagining What could be? students developed plans to foster richer ecosystems in their school grounds, taking meaningful steps towards protecting them. Their imaginative solutions included planting natives to invite birds, creating bug habitats, and predator trapping to protect vulnerable species.
Akonga spent the hui identifing and recording the species they encountered, then translating that into creative works. Some ākonga built a colourful collage of Tomahawk Lagoon, others sketched tidepool creatures or crafted posters to inspire environmental care, while others joined Jenny Powell (City of Literature South D Poet Lorikeet) in creating original poems inspired by the day that wove together sensory memories, and things they saw and learned—fostering artistic expression and environmental understanding.
The special day was captured in a vibrantly designed poetry book, with the cover featuring the collage created by ākonga with artist Pam McKinlay, and the endpapers showcase student drawings inspired by the ecosystems. With action photographs throughout to complement the poems, every page is testament to how creativity, science, and sustainability can intertwine in these powerful student voices.
The poetry book was published as part of the Ōtepoti UNESCO City of Literature’s 10th Anniversary legacy series, and has been distributed to all the ākonga, schools, and contributors involved in this special day.
Click here to read the original article from Dunedin City of Literature.
Click here to see more about the hui on this facebook post.
