Reviving the Maringi-a-Wai stream as a teaching/ living resource for tamariki and others.
Team: Te Kura ā Iwi o Whakatupuranga Rua Mano
The Maringi-a-Wai stream used to be Ōtaki’s only waterway bringing people from the beach into town. Tuna (eels) loved it. Drained in the 1930s, it’s now fed by twelve springs on kura grounds.
It takes seven years to build up a plant ‘soak area’ to purify polluted water. Kaitiaki whenua/ teacher Merle Metekingi has been going for six, leading work on the now regionally renowned project.
Once Maringi-a-Wai has been cleaned up, Merle and the kura kids will branch out to restore other streams. They’ve got stories to share, disasters as well as successes; cow tramplings, upstream irrigation. Other schools come to theirs to see how it’s done. Meanwhile, every day the stream’s a classroom, for Te Kura ā Iwi o Whakatupuranga Rua Mano and beyond.
In this video is caretaker and woodcarving teacher Robert Cooper.
What the $1000 People’s Choice Bonus would be spent on:
Building a sun shelter/ outdoor classroom next to the stream.
Te Kura ā Iwi o Whakatupuranga Rua Mano welcomes manuhiri (visitors) to check out the restoration project, and volunteers to join in.
CONTACT: merle@wrm.school.nz