Te Pae Maharahara (Garden of Remembrance)
Te Kura Kaupapa Māori O Tupoho - Castlecliff, Whanganui, New Zealand
Te Pae Maharahara ‘Garden of Remembrance’ is dedicated to all the whānau (family) who established and built the kura.
The plaque on the Māuri stone (below) is inscribed with the kōrero “E tu te poho ki to ruku o te Kawau kura” (and translates as: “Stand with grace and pay honour to our noble loved ones”). This kōrero was given by distinguished Ngā Rauru Reo speaker Rauru Broughton, who also named Te Pae Maharahara. This garden is for healing and connecting to the tāiao (environment).
Thank you to the generous funding from:
Matariki Tu Rākau- Ministry of Primary Industries - One Billion Trees Project.
Horizons Regional Council - The Indigenous Biodiversity Fund 2021 and 2022. The Ministry Of Education Discretionary Fund 2022.
Thanks also to Heritage Crops Research Trust for their donations of Fruit and Nut trees, vegetables and seeds, And of course, Te Kura Kaupapa Māori O Tupoho Board of Trustees, kaiako, kaimahi, rangatahi, tamariki and whānau for their ongoing support.
Kia ora! Tumuaki Matua Tim Tukapua for your passion for the tāiao, also Piwakawaka Farm, Murray Jones, and everyone who gave their time and support to this project. Ngā mihi nui a koutou katoa!
Local article for our project here
Works
Originally a slope of sand dunes covered in kikuyu grass we cut this to create 3 broad terraces with mounds (or ‘swale’s’) to slow, soak and store any rainfall. Cardboard and tree mulch were added to these terraces to build organic matter, hold moisture in the soil, and encourage fungi, micro-organisms and worms. Compost pockets were used when planting to establish and feed trees and other plantings. Nitrogen-fixing nurse trees such as Tagasaste (Tree Lucerne) help establish more sensitive plantings. Native Rongoā (medicinal) trees are planted on the top terrace, perimeter and gully and provide much-needed habitat to increase local biodiversity. The lower two terraces are planted with a mix of native and fruit and nut trees, underplanted with herbs and edible groundcovers,
Awesome whānau planting day in late September 2021 with our first 150 trees planted into beautiful compost, and mulched. Tino pai oū tātou mahi! Ngā tauira, ngā kaiako, ngā manuhiri.. Ngā mihi nui tātou kātoa!
By diverting overflows from two rainwater tanks into the gully we are returning much needed water to the system. Summer months bring high temperatures, winds and therefore evaporation.
Students dug the trench to install a tap from the tank to irrigate the top terraces.
Matariki / Pūanga - The Māori New Year
Matariki (locally Pūanga) constellations rise in mid winter-late Juned marking the Māori New Year, as days now grow longer. Pūanga is a time to remember loved ones who have passed in the previous year and the time to plant trees..
The Mauri stone was installed at Pūanga 2022 with the also māra being given it’s name Te Pae Maharahara. and opened with a blessing. We worked hard as a team to prepare the ground, laying cardboard and tree mulch to suppress weeds and build soil, and recycling old fencing to construct seating and donated tree trunks and a milled slab as an outdoor learning area.
By the second summer the māra creaties it’s own microclimate with birdlife and first fruits arriving. The outdoor learning/seating area was constructed with students from donated tree trunks.
