Otatara School - Mānuka Class Term 1 2022
The 8th March I started my journey with the students and teacher of Mānuka class from Otatara School. We started by visiting the neighbouring Otatara Scenic Reserve and challenging the students with finding a NZ native plant that they could identify and tell the rest of us about. It was great to capture the knowledge that these students have from years of visiting the adjacent reserve. We met mingimingi, flax, ferns, tōtara, kahikatea, astelia and many more, also being reminded of the three different names that NZ native plants can have - common name, Te Reo Māori name and scientific name. We talked about being botanists and what features we can use to identify natives. 22nd March we focused on looking for and learning about mānuka. We found lots of little plants along the edge of the reserve track in an area of open canopy, and the class shared their knowledge about the types of places and conditions that mānuka like to live and grow in. We noticed that there were no flowers in sight, with discussion leading to seasons, pollination, and why a mānuka plant produces flowers - it is just so we can have mānuka honey? More great knowledge sharing about the parts of the flower and pollination by insects. We found some dead and empty seed pods from a fallen mānuka, and then after a quick walk around the track we found an adult mānuka. Noticing the black soot we learnt the black substance that grows is a black fungus (Capnodium walteri) disease that is spread by a scale insect (Eriococcus manukae) that feeds on the tree. The scale insect exudes a ‘honey dew’ that is sweet and sugary. Honey dew is the perfect food source for the black fungus to grow. A great session with the students sharing their knowledge and making links with their classroom learning to the bush surrounding us. The 5th April and the class had a number of well thought out questions from their inquiry about mānuka - like how tall it grows, more about conditions that mānuka likes to grow in, what it was used for and questions about the fire at Awarua Bay and how mānuka is one of the plants burning at that site. We had discussion and also checked out the Southland Community Nursery website and what it can tell us about mānuka. Check out the plant list at www.southlandcommunitynursery.org.nz/restoring-your-patch/know-your-patch/wetlands-and-streams/wetlands-planting-list/ and for some of the uses of this amazing plant check out www.southlandcommunitynursery.org.nz/site/assets/files/1095/leaf_bingo_maori_uses_-_scn.pdf. It was then a quick escape to the bush to see some mānuka flowers that I had noticed - a real treat to find these at this time of year and a great recap of the mānuka lifecycle. As a challenge I left some seed pods and seeds and the “Challenge - Seed Packet Design” with the class. You can try this challenge too - see www.southlandcommunitynursery.org.nz/site/assets/files/1095/scn_seed_packet_challenge_-_seed_packet_design.pdf. I look forward to seeing all their learning captured on these!
Bronwyn
Posted: 8 April 2022
