Marlborough teachers gain introduction to rongoā
Ripeka Hook, from Manaaki Ngahere Trust, shares her knowledge of Rongoā with teachers at a recent Rongoā workshop in Rārangi
Twenty Marlborough teachers had a taster in rongoā, or traditional Māori healing recently.
It was the second rongoā workshop, organised by Council’s Environmental Education team as part of their Enviroschools focus on ‘place’ for this year.
Attendees, ranging from early childhood through to secondary teachers, were taken on a journey by Kōkā Lovey Walsh, Whaea Tricia Hook and Whaea Ripeka Hook from Manaaki Ngahere Trust.
The trio shared their knowledge of rongoā plant identification. The first workshop was held in the gardens of Mayfield Kindergarten, the second at Monkey Bay in Rārangi.
The introductory workshop took the kaiako, or teachers, on a guided walk into the surrounding bush to find a variety of plants with rongoā properties, such as kawakawa, harakeke, korimiko, ngaio, angi angi and whauwhaupaku.
While only intended to be an introduction to rongoā, the workshops were put on due to demand from Enviroschools teachers.
“They wanted to know more about it, so we reached out to a provider,” Enviroschools facilitator Ramona Millen said.
“Part of our role is networking. It’s about supporting local people to be able to deliver their own knowledge. We weren’t in a position to provide that knowledge, so we thought we’d bring in those who are experienced in this area.”
Manaaki Ngahere Trust offers a one year rongoā course to those interested in taking their learning journey further. Contact Ripeka for more details at ripeka82@gmail.com or have a look on the Manaaki Ngahere Trust Facebook page.
