‘Whenua Wenerei’ a winner for Mangatuna

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

Only five schools across the country were chosen to win a TREEmendous Education Programme for 2023, and Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Mangatuna, East Coast is one of the five.

The school’s winning ticket was establishing Whenua Wenerei or Landmarks Wednesday — a day the school dedicates to the environment.

The intention is to expand students’ knowledge by developing a programme to make the most of their natural environment, ensuring future generations can also enjoy it.

The winning schools received $1000 and a visit from Ruud “The Bugman” Kleinpaste and shark scientist Riley Elliott.

The TREEmendous initiative is supported by the Mazda Foundation Charitable Trust. The trust has contributed to medical funding, environmental research, training and upkeep of assistance dogs, and grants to assist foundations deliver food parcels to struggling families.

Over the past 12 years, 52 schools have benefited from the TREEmendous programme.

Mazda employees are also involved in community planting days at the schools and local dealership staff can often be found cooking up sausages on the barbecue on the day.

“Some of the schools I work with do “translocations” — they literally restore habitats by reintroducing species that were lost. Those teachers and kids are just like the Department of Conservation experts in terms of setting these projects up,” Mr Kleinpaste said.

Connecting learning with resources and expertise to encourage environmental conservation and restoration, Mr Kleinpaste works directly with teachers.

He offers ways to use the outdoors as a teaching resource and advises staff on specific projects for future learning.  From creating habitats for wildlife, bird monitoring projects and beekeeping, he is delighted to expand his wealth of knowledge.

Projects so far have included Coromandel Area School’s initiative to save whitebait. Students had discovered the inanga, the smallest species of whitebait, was at risk and in serious decline. The students carried out extensive research, and decided a solution would be to plant natives and wetland plants alongside the spring that ran through the school’s grounds.  This created a ‘natural corridor’, helping to purify the water and creating a safe place for protecting inanga eggs.

“Teachers get that cross-curricular teaching and the kids just love going outside,” said Mr Kleinpaste. “They learn so much about our oceans, the fish and sharks, plants, birds and bugs. Some become real nature nerds and become very good at finding critters and identifying them.

“It’s hard to get them away from exploring outside — it’s a natural thing to do for kids, and besides, field trips mean you’re not at school, so you’re not learning, eh,” Mr Kleinpaste joked.

Applications to  win a TREEmendous Education Programme for next year open in January 2024.

Details can be found on the website, treemendous.org.nz