Creating a Ngahere - Hinemoa Kindergarten

Connecting with Papatūānuku is a core part of Hinemoa Kindergarten’s learning approach. Through field trips and bush kindergarten sessions, teachers help children learn to care for and protect their natural environment.  Although field trips are a highlight of the learning calendar, they require a significant amount of planning and logistics. The team at Hinemoa wanted to find a space nearby so outdoor learning could happen more regularly. 

In 2015 children took part in an annual bird count at the Kindergarten. The children were disappointed to find that native bird numbers were very low, and began talking about how to attract more birdlife to the area. While taking a walk through the grassy reserve behind the Kindergarten they realised they could hear birds in the back gardens bordering the fenceline. Teachers explained that birds were attracted to the native trees in these neighboring gardens.  By the time the children had returned to Kindergarten they’d started to form a plan. It was time to create their very own ngahere (forest) right in their backyard.

With the support of Kids Greening Taupō (KGT), Taupō District Council and local landscape architect Kara Scott, the children designed a planting plan for the reserve. The plan included a number of ideas from the children and was designed to be implemented in phases, as time and resource allowed.

The kindergarten then organised a community planting day in August 2016, inviting parents, neighbours, and friends of the Kindergarten to plant over 400 native plants in the reserve. The event was a huge success.

Since then the ngahere has flourished, and the native birds have returned. Children regularly visit the area to weed around the plants, watering them with worm wee made from the Kindergarten’s food scraps. Over the years more plants have been added along with a small bike track. The ngahere has become a central part of the children’s learning experience. 

The reserve when it was planted

The reserve in 2022!

“I still remember the time that we saw our first piwakawaka (fantail). It had come to greet us as we were having morning tea in our ngahere, chirping happily as it chased the tiny bugs around. Caring for and learning in our ngahere is very special. By using the gifts of Papatūānuku we develop a deeper connection with the earth, and with each other.”

Joceline Triscott, Kaiwhakaako / Head Teacher at Hinemoa Kindergarten

Rylee, aged 10, with her grandparents and the tree that she planted.

Rylee, aged 17, with the tree that she planted!

There’s something really special about watching a project come full circle and take a life of its own. These days, Hinemoa Kindergarten is leading their own conservation work, showing what’s possible when tamariki are given real opportunities to connect with and protect nature. , The kindergarten has been setting up tracking tunnels and building rat traps, with the support of local volunteers like Ian from the Pakeke Lions Club Taupō, to care for their ngahere.

It’s a joy to see our youngest kaitiaki (guardians) checking traps and learning how to protect the birds and insects that live in their special forest space. They’re developing eco-literacy — understanding what their environment needs to thrive — and growing a deep sense of responsibility for the natural world.

Even more inspiring is seeing how confidently they share their knowledge and discoveries, full of curiosity and pride. Every time they head out to the ngahere, they’re not just playing or learning — they’re becoming leaders. The children were extremely excited recently to discover they had caught a rat in one of their traps!

We’re incredibly grateful to community members like Ian and the Pakeke Lions Club, who give their time and energy to support projects like this — and who also do fantastic work with Predator Free Taupō. It’s because of people like them that our kaupapa continues to grow.

At Kids Greening Taupō, we believe environmental leadership can start at any age. The tamariki at Hinemoa Kindergarten are proof of that!

Thank you Hinemoa Kindergarten for the photos below.