Collecting Native Seeds and Cuttings

We are a Green/Gold Enviroschool - the first city school in Tūranganui-a-Kiwa to become one. Years ago, we started planting a native reserve which is now quite big. Today we went and collected seeds and cuttings because autumn is a great time to do this. Kauri and Bridget, from The Women's Native Tree Trust, showed us how to get the seeds from the pods and strip a cutting off. We were careful not to take too many from one tree.

We also learnt quite a lot of other things. We all knew that the Māori Battalion fought courageously in the war under horrendous conditions. But did you know that their whānau back home picked the tips of the koromiko leaves, dried them and sent them to their fathers and sons? The soldiers chewed the leaves which cured them of dysentery and this most likely saved their lives! Ngaio is an insect repellent. Rub the leaves on your legs and the mosquitoes won't come near you. Karamu leaves are for your sore puku. Take the leaves at the tips. Try and take multiples of 12 because that's being kind to the tree by not taking too many. Put the leaves in a cup and pour boiling water over them. By the time it's cool enough for kids to drink, the magic is done. Just drink the cup. Don't eat the leaves. 

After we had collected the seeds and cuttings, we bused to The Women's Native Tree Nursery to learn about propagation. We dipped the cuttings in water and rooting compound (a powder that gives them a boost to grow), planted the seeds into a cutting mix and the cuttings into small pots. We also clipped the kōwhai seeds before planting them otherwise they won't grow.

Next term we will go back and re-pot them into bigger pots. The Women's Native Tree Trust will then gift them to other schools and organisations who want to plant native trees like us. This is a great act of service and a wonderful way to re-cloak Papatūānuku. 

We are also going to learn more about Rongoā Māori. 

What do you know about native trees and rongoā?

Women's Native Tree Nursery Visit

We are a Green/Gold Enviroschool - the first city school in Tūranganui-a-Kiwa to become one. Years ago, we started planting a native reserve which is now quite big. Today we went and collected seeds and cuttings because autumn is a great time to do this. Kauri, from The Women's Native Tree Trust, showed us how to get the seeds from the pods and strip a cutting off. We were careful not to take too many from one tree.

We also learnt quite a lot of other things. We all knew that the Māori Battalion fought courageously in the war under horrendous conditions. But did you know that their whānau back home picked the tips of the koromiko leaves, dried them and sent them to their fathers and sons? The soldiers chewed the leaves which cured them of dysentery and this most likely saved their lives! Ngaio is an insect repellent. Rub the leaves on your legs and the mosquitoes won't come near you. Karamu leaves are for your sore puku. Take the leaves at the tips. Try and take multiples of 12 because that's being kind to the tree by not taking too many. Put the leaves in a cup and pour boiling water over them. By the time it's cool enough for kids to drink, the magic is done. Just drink the cup. Don't eat the leaves. 

While we were down at the Rerenga Awa, we spray painted an Australian native that was accidentally planted. We did this so our caretaker will know which ones to remove.

After we had collected the seeds and cuttings, we walked to The Women's Native Tree Nursery to learn about propagation. It was a hot 30 minute walk but we decided not to bus or use cars as we were thinking about our carbon footprint. Once we were there, we planted the seeds in a cutting mix and the cuttings into small pots. It was so hot, we kept going under the sprinkler system to cool off. 

Next term we will go back and re-pot them into bigger pots. The Women's Native Tree Trust will then gift them to other schools and organisations who want to plant native trees like us. This is a great act of service.

Kawakawa Balm and Cleaver Tea

Today, we spent the afternoon making Kawakawa balm and drinking Cleaver tea. The tea is a natural tonic and we decided that it tasted a bit like parsley. 

We made the Kawakawa balm from the leaves and stems of the plant. It's growing in our Rongoa Garden (Healing Garden) at school. Whenever we pick the leaves, it's important to think about the care of the plant and it's future growth. Never take too much and whatever you don't use, always return to the base of the plant. Saying a karakia asking for permission to take some leaves and thanking God for this wonderful gift is also part of the process.

Picking leaves with holes is best - insects know best! What they eat is the most potent and this is what we want.

Making the infused Kawakawa oil

First you need to make the Kawakawa oil. You can add essential oils such as lavender or tea-tree for extra medicinal purposes but we chose not to as some people don't react postively to them.

Tearing the leaves and stalks of the Kawakawa, they were placed in a crockpot with 1 litre of olive oil. The leaves had to be under the oil. Then the crockpot was turned onto the lowest setting possible and left for about 5 hours. Once the time was up, it was left for about a week to infuse then strained through a muslin cloth into a jar. A small group of children had already done this part of the process a couple of weeks ago.

Making the balm

We poured some of the infused oil into a double boiler (with water in the bottom pot) and heated it. Then we added some melted beeswax. It was about 1/4 cup of beeswax to 1 1/4 cups of infused oil. Then we carefully poured the balm into some jars and it set.

We are now selling the Kawakawa balm so we can buy a Friendship Chair for our school.

Do you know what Kawakawa balm is good for?

Enviroschools at Home

During Lockdown, we continued our Enviroschools learning. We repurposed old t-shirts into bags, and learnt about and made closed loops. We also learnt how bugs are actually very useful in our garden and created our own bugs from things we had at home. Finally, we read some statistics about what is being dumped into our landfills. The majority of it could have been recycled so we created posters encouraging people to recycle, reuse, reduce and repurpose.
You can read more about these by reading our individual blogs.

Silver Reflection Day - Enviroschools

We are aiming to be a Silver Enviroschool. For this to happen, the students of our school need to be able to explain a lot of things that have been happening. This week, Kirsty and Kauri from Tairāwhiti Enviroschools will be coming to our school. We will welcome them with a whakatau, then show them around the school telling them about what we have been doing and why. Then  each class will tell them about the 5 guiding principles (empowered students, respect for diversity of people and cultures, Māori perspectives, learning for sustainability, and sustainable communities).
Room 1 will also be telling them about our rat trap journey so far. The video we have made for them to watch is here.