E HOKI ATU KI PAPATŪĀNUKU Handy Actions
These might help you complete the Let Nature in Block
- Learn more about Maramataka (the traditional Māori lunar calendar) and how you could incorporate this into your service.
- Encourage parents and whānau to regularly be helpers on excursions into nature and provide them with prompts to engage curiosity (What do you see/hear/smell/feel? What do you think happened here? Why do you think this happened…?).
- Provide opportunities for parents and whānau to evaluate their own risk profile (their view of risk, fears and assumptions), and the barriers this may create for their children to engage with nature.
- Consult with local iwi and adopt and/or name a significant tree on site or nearby).
- Commit to a long-term sustainability journey by joining the Enviroschools
- Aim to become a zero waste early learning service and connect with organisations such as Para Kore or Zero Waste Education.
- Explore the conservation education resources provided by the Department of Conservation.
- Contact your local City Council or Regional Council about initiatives to support environmental restoration and nature conservation, such as community planting or rubbish clean up days. Or organise your own clean-up day in your local community; view this helpful Keep New Zealand Beautiful guide.
- Find out about your local City Council education programmes on community waste, water education and outdoor education and commit to engaging with a suitable programme.
- Join Paper4trees and have your recycling of paper and cardboard waste rewarded with native trees to plant at your early learning service.
- Fundraise to purchase wet weather gear for all tamariki enrolled at your centre, or request donations of this gear, so all tamariki have opportunities to play outside in wet weather.
- Encourage families from all cultures to share stories about their memories and experiences in nature.
- Plant an edible garden or maara kai at your early learning service and get tamariki involved in the growing, maintaining and harvesting of the garden. Use the produce for cooking, or snacks, or send home to parents along with accompanying stories or art.
- Seek support from a local kaumatua to establish maara kai using traditional systems of food production guided by tikanga Māori and the values of their ancestors.
- Seek support from local kaumatua to share pūrākau (stories)about their connection to nature, as well as local kawa (guidelines) and tikanga (habits).
- Consider fundraising events that have a focus on nature, minimising waste and caring for the environment.
- Put together a display that celebrates nature and what we can do to look after the environment.
- Share information about practical activities involving nature that parents and whānau can try at home, and encourage them to share what they have tried.
- Encourage children’s curiosity by asking open ended questions when out in nature: Why do you think . . . ? Where do you think . . . ? What else might be affected . . . ? What do you think has happened here? How are they alike? How are they different? What do you think would happen if . . . ? How could we find out more?
- Play “What If . . . ?” games to encourage inventiveness and experimentation: What if there were no worms? What if we stayed out here for the night?
- Organise a treasure hunt in nature, exploring different senses such as sound, smell, sight, touch.
- Re-use organic waste to create new soil by involving tamariki in compost or worm farming.
- Provide a low nature display table so tamariki can use their senses to touch, taste, listen, see and smell the items. Provide a range of items from nature or ask tamariki to bring in items and perhaps try to include a different item each day.
- Encourage tamariki and whānau to share photos/stories of their household pet (or bring their pet along – if appropriate).
- Encourage whānau to share ideas about how they have been spending time in nature, and their special places they visit.
- Encourage whānau to have more green time and less screen time (instead of watching TV together, play outside together, throw a ball, play hide and seek, go for a bike ride).
