Mātauraka Māori
It was awesome to be at home at Rāpaki and for Bush Farm School to be on the land where I grew up and I got to discover my ancestral whenua and outdoor education. It was humbling and mana-enhancing to start off with a shared Te reo Māori karakia and kōrero about Rāpaki and its significance, it felt tika (right) to acknowledge the mana whenua.

It was also really great to have the Pohatu team to educate us about penguins and habitats. To have many voices adding different information about micro-plastics, penguins and other information about the kaupapa we were on the boat to learn about.

It was really lovely to see different school students coming together to learn and listen to all the speakers. I liked discovering more about what Pohatu do and their conservation mahi, it was very interesting and I felt like we all went away humbled and privileged to have the chance to be there and learn.

Materia Hutana - Kaiako Māori - November 2020