Kuaka Kōhatu

Matala Programme ki Tauranga 🛶

An absolute privilege to travel to Tauranga with the Moana Wayfinders team, teaching the Indigenous Science of Movement to Pasifika kaiako and tauira from around the Bay of Plenty.

A beautiful reminder of why we do what we do, to see our indigenous people empowered in their cultural identity, realising the immense value our cultures have to offer this world 💫

Kuaka Kōhatu is back for another year of supporting organisations in foundational te ao Māori and indigenous knowledge integration!

If you’re looking for ways to authentically integrate te ao Māori and indigenous knowledge into practice, contact Kuaka Kōhatu to find out how our professional development, education, resources and strategic advice can guide and empower your organisation 🌱

Overview of the services which Kuaka Kōhatu provides to authentically grow te ao Māori and indigenous knowledge within organisations.

Beginning with foundational values and perspectives, filtering through to the application of practices.

Get in contact if you're looking for te ao Māori and indigenous development for your organisation 🌱

Grateful for the opportunity to contribute an article to Te Whakatika - Journal for Outdoor and Environmental Learning 🌿

Check it out on the link below:
https://eonz.org.nz/Resources/Publications/Te-Whakatika-Current-Archives

If you’re looking to elevate your organisation’s cultural capability, Kuaka Kōhatu provides workshops, resources and strategic development to help you integrate the wealth of knowledge which indigenous culture has to offer ✨

Get in touch to find out how a tailored programme could empower your organisation 🌱

Keynote presentation and maramataka workshop delivered for Te Tai Tōrua North/West primary and intermediate kaiako last month 🌔

Kaitiakitanga, Maramataka & Kotahitanga workshop with the Hospital Play Specialists, Northern Region 🌱🌔🛶

First time running a session within the health sector and what a meaningful space to be in! I have so much respect for the incredible mahi this group does for our tamariki 🙌🏽

Ngā mihi nui e hoa for bringing me into this awesome space 🩵

This morning’s kōrero with 531 PI about the value of Outdoor Education for Māori and Pasifika and why it would be detrimental to remove it from the curriculum 🌱

Education Outdoors New Zealand

Concerns raised about Education changes for Pacific, Māori students Teachers say the shift to vocational pathways will strip rangatahi of a subject that connects them to their ancestors, identity, and leadership potential.

Such a good read about what counts as “knowledge” in education, challenging the inequity of standardising education doesn’t support Māori and Pasifika ways of knowing.

“Standardising education doesn’t equalise it...If we refuse to embrace other ways of knowing and learning, we’re asking students to leave who they are at the school gate — and that is not what education should be about.”

“Western, colonial education systems may be out of favour in 2025, but call it a ‘knowledge-rich’ system, and somehow it’s more acceptable.” — Erica Hamilton, secondary school teacher.
🔗 https://shorturl.at/YLNE5

Outdoor Education, where would I be without you? 💚

Within the outdoor education space was where I first discovered my love for te ao Māori and came to understand my identity, grounded in the taiao. I witnessed so many of my tauira find the same sense of belonging within outdoor education which helped them to walk confidently in their identity and flourish in all other areas of their life. The environment is a space of abundant learning where tauira are not expected to conform to the four walls of a classroom, instead their identity and diversity is celebrated and embraced.

A Māori view of the environment is holistic and symbiotic, therefore we all have an important place to hold within the taiao, a concept which is essential to uplifting the hauora of our rangatahi.

Alongside the government’s proposed changes to education, returning to a standardised system which does not allow for inclusivity of learners, outdoor education is at risk of being removed from the general senior subjects list and instead placed on the vocational pathways list. This would mean that accessibility to meaningful outdoor education would be significantly reduced, controlled and underfunded.

The environment is our ultimate kaiako, and for so many students outdoor education is a life changing opportunity. Visit the link below to find out how you can show your support for keeping Outdoor Education in the curriculum or email a submission directly to: [email protected]

https://eonz.org.nz/Home/NCEA-Outdoor-Education-Proposed-Changes

Kia kaha OED 🌱


Education Outdoors New Zealand