Learning for life
- 1 hour ago
- 3 min read
About ten kilometres as the crow flies from the shore of Ōhiwa Harbour lies Nukuhou North School. The Nukuhou stream, known locally as Ruakani awa, flows gently behind the school’s sports field. Other nearby landmarks are Pukenuioraho maunga (hill); the Waimana Valley and Te Urewera are also within sight. In years 0 to 8 about 60 children attend the small, rural, full primary school, located midway between Whakatāne and Ōpōtiki on State Highway 2. Many of the school’s tamariki (children) whakapapa (descent) to the local iwi, Ngāi Tūhoe, particularly in the whārua (valley) of Te Waimana. The school’s motto is Ka whai ora tonu ngā akoranga mo te ao katoa – Learning for Life.
Two years ago the learning for life experience expanded beyond the school boundaries and into what had been just a wet paddock. Conversations between Lynne Hickling, the school’s environmental lead, and dairy farmer Paul Warneford led to the wet paddock becoming the school’s own wetland restoration project. Paul had previously created several wetlands on his farm and so it did not take too much convincing on Lynne’s part. This wetland being so close to the school grounds seemed a perfect opportunity.
By August 2024 the Bay of Plenty Regional Council had done the earthworks, creating three ponds. From then on, the whole school has been part of creating this wetland that is connected to the Nukuhou Stream, the Ōhiwa Harbour’s main tributary. Pupils began by germinating, then growing their own seedlings from seeds sourced from a wetland up the road.
They are now in the second year of planting up the margins of the ponds with mānuka, cabbage trees, flaxes, coprosmas, and kahikatea. They have grown quickly and so now Lynne takes the children to identify the native plants and take seeds. The school now has its own thriving nursery which has enabled more planting to be done around the wetland and on the school grounds. The nursery sits in the school’s māra kai (veggie garden), another ongoing project where students learn how everything is connected: growing your own food, eating healthy, self-sufficiency.
A pest control group checks both the rat and possom traps on the school grounds and those at the wetland. And of course, the students made the boxes for the t-rex traps themselves too, with a little help from HALO Whakatāne. Birds have quickly discovered the new wetland. Paul Cummings of the Ornithological Society came along for a successful bird count in late 2024. There are herons, plovers and lots more birds. The wetland has other inhabitants too: dragonflies are frequently hovering over the water and even a frog was spotted.
Lynne thinks there are bound to be eels and a winter project will be to build a hīnaki, an eel trap, to confirm. She has also tested the Nukuhou Stream’s water quality with the students. Here at Nukuhou North, the Nukuhou is a small stream that winds its way across a wide stretch of intensely farmed land before entering the Wainui Valley at Matekerepu and flowing out into Ōhiwa Harbour. The school’s wetland restoration project has been a great way to connect students with the stream and the local taiao (environment) more broadly, as well as the Nukuhou North community.
