Kaiate Falls fortunes...

Our Enviro-Ed groups went on an adventure last week... it was time to show these kids how beautiful our native forests are! 🌳

Our purpose was to show the students what our gully could look like if we work together to restore the indigenous plant communities within it!

And although the falls are out of reach, the rich and diverse native forest is certainly a worthy aspiration.

We begun with karakia, which gave us the opportunity to slow down and connect. And under a canopy of giant pūriri we marveled at the big scars made by NZ's largest moth - the pepe tuna (or 'pūriri moth'). ☘️

The abundance of edible plants was relished by the students who enjoyed the fact that they could almost eat as much of it as they wished... unlike the half-leaf portions they received in the gully!

Students were also introduced to kiekie, NZ's only representative of the tropical Pandanus family, and we learnt of how it was used by tangata whenua for many hundreds of years in the making of soft mats and tukutuku panels. 🏡

Community collaboration & aspirations for the future

We learnt of the rural community that's been working together here for many years, and how over the years they have planted many thousands of native plants to protect the waterways.

We also learnt of the vision to bring back our wildlife so that one day we can enjoy great flocks of kererū, beautiful tūī and korimako symphonies... and perhaps even one day enjoy the likes of kōkako and kiwi in our backyards. What a vision 🌏

Our hope is that these kids can be involved in this awesome kaupapa, and we'll certainly be eagerly pursuing this!

Thanks to all teachers & whānau who helped make this happen! Kei runga noa atu hapori o Waitao hoki! Your work is greatly appreciated ❤

Ngā mihi mahana,

Matua Jake