This year for the first time I'm taking part in a citizen science project The Great Kererū Count 2020. After attending the Blake Inspire Course for teachers I became more aware of the variety of citizen science projects that schools can be involved with. Though there are not any sightings of Kererū at my learning centre in future I if circumstances alow I could get them involved. Or we could take part in other bird surveys.
There are migratory seabirds near our learning centre perhaps I could suggest taking a group of our tamariki to see them. Invite an expert to talk with us about them.
The long-standing tradition of growing your own food can have a positive impact on the health of people, as well as the environment. This activity encourages children, young people and their whānau to think about why we might want to grow our own food, and how we can all do this.
To make this more relevant and rewarding, we suggest using plants that will grow relatively quickly – and ones that are most likely to be considered delicious!
Suggested activity
Discuss why and how people grow food for themselves, and what the impact of this is on the local environment – from growing, to eating, to composting. You could also discuss the transportation and storage of food, versus eating locally grown and seasonal produce, and whether big or small gardens are more productive.
Investigate what types of fruit and vegetables would be suitable to grow in your local area, and what time of year to plant each of them. The Maramataka (Māori lunar calendar) is a useful tool, as well as information about weather patterns.
Create your own garden, in your backyard or in pots, or look for a community garden in your local area that you can contribute to. If there isn’t an existing community garden in your area, you could talk to people in your community about whether you could help to set one up.
Record the planting, growth, and harvesting of your fruit and vegetables. You could do this by taking a series of photos, drawing pictures, or writing a story. You could also make a poster about the benefits of māra kai, or create a menu based on the fruit and vegetables you have planted.
Share your māra kai with others – you could invite your friends and whānau to eat a meal based on “in season” food you have grown.
