Tōtara Fun, Part 2 - 8 April 2021
Following on from my outing with the Tōtara class of Otatara School to the Ōreti Tōtara Dune Forest (see 31 March), I was privileged to go on another outing to the adjacent Otatara Scenic Reserve with this class of tuned in learners. We learnt all about the significance and use of this tree species by Māori and European. Māori used this strong timber for waka, building and carvings and we pretended to sit in a waka made from Tōtara and tried to imagine a waka 27 metres long that was capable of carrying up to 100 warriors. The strength of the wood also saw it used for fenceposts, bridges and railways. Picking up on finding the fruit on the previous excursion and answering questions the students had, we pretended to grow from a tiny seedling found on the forest floor, up through the sheltering species, until we reached the forest canopy (or ceiling), fruiting with the seed on the outside, the fruit being eaten by a tui or kererū and pooped out ready to grow again… This group of learners loved that the seed was on the outside of the fruit and added this information into their nature journals. Lots of learning about and in the forest today.
Bronwyn
Posted: 12 April 2021