Mission Place Kindergarten in Kaitaia, share their Enviroschools journey of investigation, exploration, action and reflection, on the pathway to creating a sustainable community!
Magic!
Identity, belonging and exploration.
In November 2023 we had Gillian (our Professional Practice Manager/ECE Enviroschools Facilitator) and Benita, (ECE Enviroschools Facilitator) come to our centre to facilitate our Reflection for Silver. We shared our journey from Bronze 2019 to now through a pukapuka we had created to highlight the amazing teaching and learning underpinned by Enviroschools Kaupapa. Many of our whānau have expressed their desire to purchase this pukapuka, as the tamariki spend a lot of time at kindergarten looking through and holding kōrero as they remember and share their Enviroschools journey.
Deepening connection, experiential learning.
Acknowledging our journey – in a beautiful pukapuka.
What are we doing well?
Creating a rākau on the wall, we gathered our whānau, tamariki, and wider community voices by adding leaves, birds, bugs and flowers and we felt extremely appreciative and loved how our whānau supported this kaupapa.
Some of our journey has been creating a pātaka kai to share our abundance of kai with our whānau and the wider community, our amazing and stunning māra kai, creating bug motels, feeding our manu and tui, redesigning and creating a new natural environment outside, removing plastics within all area of our kindergarten, working towards Zero waste, working with Oturu kura students to re-design and paint our 12 posts, connecting to and bringing alive ngā Atua. The Silver Reflection process was very mana-enhancing as it made visual all we have done!
“The Enviroschool principles are well embedded into the kaupapa of this kindergarten, especially Respect for Diversity, Empowered Learners, and Te Ao Māori. Since their Bronze holistic reflection in 2019 the team has improved their outside learning environment, with the removal a very large and plastic playground structure which was replaced with a more natural outdoor space. They have a thriving māra kai, of which the tamariki are active participants, from the propagation of seeds to the eating of fresh product. Any excess produce is shared with families and the wider community in their pātaka kai. The kindergarten continues growing its sustainable practices as it continues to work alongside Para Kore and ECO Solutions. Congratulations Mission Place Kindergarten, NKA’s latest Silver Enviroschool.” – Gillian Armitt (ECE Enviroschools Facilitator & Professional Practice Manager)
Learning in, about and for nature.
Our next steps and focuses are:
- to gain knowledge and understanding around the Maramataka, how we can utilise Māori knowledge of Maramataka within all that we do at kindergarten.
- to add to our māra kai and growing sustainable practices
- catch rainwater for use in our Environment that tamariki have access to (the existing water tank is out the back and access is via one hose),
- seedling house,
- harvesting and drying of kai,
- flowers for rongoā,
- to bring in experts for Kaiako to learn with and alongside our tamariki and their whānau
by Nerida, Gaylene, Leayers, Matekino, Melinka, Kat from Mission Place Kindergarten
Weaving te ao Māori into centre life.
Tracking what we have achieved.
We care for Papatūānuku.
Looking after our place.
Being good at looking after Papatūānuku.