Kimi Ora - the start of a Te Puna Taiao Journey

Kimi Ora Community School is situated in the heart of Flaxmere. Kimi Ora has an amazingly rich community. Different cultures bring skills and strengths that support and help nurture and grow kids into caring, responsible people who make a difference in their school and community.

The Te Puna Taiao team were excited to be able to visit the school in December 2018 to meet the pakeke and tamariki and see some of the cool learning that was taking place. Kids creating mud slides, riding bikes around their bike track, building shoe racks out of pallets and their amazing garden that feeds their students every day.

They are currently working with the MOE to build new and innovative indoor learning spaces for their tamariki, and we were grateful for the opportunity to talk about the potential of their outdoor spaces. They already have embedded some of the key design elements of Te Puna Taiao in their current practice (loose parts, gardens), and the school grounds and space available, proximity to the local marae and surrounding areas provide a great starting point for transformation. They have great support from the local Wharariki Trust and are excited to be able to maximise their existing relationships within the community to reimagine outdoor spaces that can help unlock the unlimited potential of all their learners.

Te Puna Taiao will start working alongside the school in 2019 as they begin the ‘REIMAGINING’ phase of the journey. Watch this space for updates!

Darryl, Papa Wayne, Erin, Hannah, Graeme, Matt (Ana - taking the photo!)