Myross Bush School Connect with their Ako – the kahikatea. 2 & 3 November 2020
Over 2 visits the Rawe syndicate of Myross Bush School spent time learning about and spotting the Myross Bush school Ako – the kahikatea tree. Around the pond track the tamariki were using their keenest observation skills to spot the NZ native trees that make up the forest at the Southland Community Nursery, who we called the friends of the kahikatea as they provide the shelter for these taonga to grow from seedlings to tall canopy trees. We spent time in the remnant kahikatea swamp forest with the mighty 400-500 year old kahikatea, looking up into the canopy of the forest, singing “E tu kahikatea” and then staying silent listening to who would sing back to us. There were tui and bellbirds, starting the learning about the whole of the forest ecosystem and who lives there. All seemed to have fun squishing through the mud of the swamp forest, noticing and finding bugs, and spending time in the education centre discovering who and what lives in what habitat and looking close up at kahikatea seeds. We learnt about why we manage pests in our forest, to protect the many manu (birds), insects and plants from damage, and finished off by singing the song “Oh no, Mr Possum”.
Posted: 3 November 2020