As part of our Matariki learning, a small group from Green Bay Kindergarten were invited to participate in a special Matariki event organised by Auckland Council and the Light Library. It was a walk through our park next door, La Rosa Gardens hosted by Emma Hinton, a local story teller.

We gathered in a sun tent on the far end of the grassy field, our host introduced herself and we were joined by Anna, our local park ranger, and Lucy, another supporter from Light Library. Each of us was given our own paper treasure bag to write our names on and decorate with natural beeswax crayons. Then Emma led us in some mindful breathing and spoke about an invisible string that connects our whole bodies to the stars above. She had everyone form a line and hold on to a long piece of red string, this would tie us together on our journey. Then we set off through the boardwalk to observe our surroundings; what could we feel, smell, hear, taste and touch?

We stopped at a few places and collected some natural treasures from the ground and added them into our treasure bags. Anna, the park ranger told us about some of the native plants we could see around us and we talked amongst ourselves about what we noticed around the uru (park).

When we returned to the sun tent on the lawn, Emma showed us pictures of what La Rosa Gardens looked like before the stream was day-lighted and the surrounding area was replanted. We then set off on our same route in the other direction, down the boardwalk to see the changes since the photos were taken, then up the bush path to the concrete eel sculpture and back to the lawn, collecting more treasures along the way.

Once returned, we used our natural treasures, a few other coloured twines and wools to weave through some natural Whetū (stars) that Emma had prepared. There were 9 stars to complete between us so some of us worked in pairs, each pair given a sheet about the star of the Matariki constellation they were to be inspired by. Our creations now hang proudly on the mobile by our hui whāriki (mat time area).

This was a beautiful way to connect with one of our most precious places, and to get to know some locals with wonderful gifts to share. Emma even gifted our  kindergarten a copy of her book; Finding Grace.

He māramatanga tō tēnei whetū, he māramatanga anō tō tērā whetū.
Each star has its own light and presence in the sky, everyone is their own  unique person