Matariki Plantings on Tauhara Maunga
Our education team: Robyn Ellis (Greening Taupō), Rachel Thompson (KGT), Naomi Keane (KGT), Liz Brooker (Project Tongariro), Ariana Fiaola (KGT Tūrangi), Heidi Pritchard (KGT)
To celebrate Matariki 2024 we supported a huge event that kicked off a 500 year plan to restore Mt Tauhara. Held over two days, the Tauhara Collective, put on ‘Matariki ki te Maunga’. This was the first step in restoring the native korowai of Tauhara Maunga (Mt Tauhara) through their project, Tauhara Ngahau. The goal is to recloak the maunga in native plants to bring back the biodiversity that should thrive there. Learn more about the Tauhara Ngahau Restoration Project here or through the video.
Whangai te Hautapu Ceremony
The event started with a whangai te hautapu ceremony at dawn for Matariki. As the sun made a spectacular arrival above the maunga, those who had passed away in the last year were remembered and wishes for the new year were made. Then after some delicious kai from He Akina to start the day, the planting day preparation began.
School Planting Event
At 10:30 we had about 900 people turn up to plant 5500 plants. This included 650 students from local schools. Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Whakarewa I Te Reo Ki Tūwharetoa brought the whole school along, the rumaki from Tauhara Primary School and Mountview School joined in too, along with groups from Waipahīhī School, Taupō Primary School, Taupō Intermediate, and Te Kura o Waitahanui. We even had some preschool children from Te Kōhanga Reo o Te Puāwaitanga and Children’s Corner come along to join in.
The tamariki (children) all arrived with their wishes for the new year written on small strips of brown paper. These were planted with their first tree and sent to Hiwa-i-te-rangi (the wishing star). This was a lovely way to celebrate Matariki, new beginnings, and the start of a new project on the maunga.
After listening to a kōrero from mana whenua about the Tauhara Ngahau project and about Matariki, the students had a tree planting demonstration from us, then set out to the furthest point of the site to start planting the trees. Ngā Mahi Kaha, with a little help from the Greening Taupō ‘Wicked Weeders’, had done the site preparation, so holes had already been dug and plants laid out. The plants went in the ground quickly and an hour later the students were enjoying hot soup and sausages from He Akina. It was fantastic!
Trees for Survival Planting with St Patrick’s Catholic School
St Patrick’s Catholic School Taupō was the first school in Taupō to sign up for the Trees for Survival programme, facilitated in Taupō by KGT. When our facilitator, Rachel, asked Waikato Regional Council about areas of land in Taupo that were erosion prone and needed planting, the suggestion was Mt Tauhara. This led to an awesome collaboration with the Tauhara Ngahau restoration project. Through Trees for Survival, St Patrick’s School were able to offer 500 plants that they had grown in their shade house to support the project. These plants were laid out in the first area of the planting site and were kept slightly separate from the rest of the 7500 plants that went into the ground. On the planting day St Patrick’s School students had a separate kōrero to the rest of the schools that had come along to help plant. Marian from Trees for Survival had come down from Auckland to join in with the day. She was able to speak to the school about the programme and explain to the tamariki how their plants would help stop erosion on the maunga, and help to purify water that would eventually end up in our lake, before heading out to sea via the Waikato river. Mana whenua also spoke about the project and after a planting demonstration, the students were ready to get started. They had also arrived with their wishes to plant for Hiwa-i-te-rangi. After enthusiastically planting their 500 plants, the St Patrick’s School students supported the other schools to finish putting the rest of the plants into the ground.
Saturday Community Planting Event
On the Saturday another 2000 plants were put in the ground during a community planting day. Mana whenua, KGT student leaders and whanau, and the community came out in force to restore the maunga, which has a special place in the heart of Taupō locals. It really was another fantastic day of collaboration. See photos below.
Ngā Mahi Kaha doing the hard work!
Thank You!
About 7500 plants were planted in total. He Tipu provided most of the plants, with Tongariro Corrections and Trees for Survival boosting the numbers. He Akina Limited was amazing, providing kai and other essentials. The site preparation was done by Ngā Mahi Kaha with a bit of help from Greening Taupo Wicked Weeder volunteers. The vision and planning of Te Auē and the trusts involved in the collective has been amazing. It is a truly collaborative project that we are honoured to be involved in. We are excited to see the next steps in this project take place and hope to be able to continue to support this awesome kaupapa.
