Matariki ki Te Maunga 2024: Where It All Started

Written By Kim Manunui

In July 2024, over Matariki, more than 900 people gathered on the slopes of Tauhara Maunga for a moment that would set a 500-year restoration in motion. Held across two days, Matariki ki te Maunga was the very first step in Tauhara Kitea, the project to recloak Tauhara in its native korowai and bring back the biodiversity this maunga once held.

The day began before sunrise, with a whāngai i te hautapu ceremony to mark Matariki. As the sun rose above the maunga, those who had passed in the previous year were remembered, and wishes were set for the year ahead. After kai from He Akina, the real mahi of the day began.

Around 900 people turned out to plant 5,500 native plants, including 650 tamariki from schools across Taupō: Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Whakarewa i te Reo ki Tūwharetoa, Tauhara Primary, Mountview School, Waipahīhī School, Taupō Primary, Taupō Intermediate, Te Kura o Waitahanui, and even preschoolers from Te Kōhanga Reo o Te Puāwaitanga and Children's Corner.

Each child arrived with a wish for the new year written on a strip of paper, planted alongside their first tree and sent on to Hiwa-i-te-rangi.

St Patrick's Catholic School Taupō, the first school in Taupō to join the Trees for Survival programme, brought 500 plants they had grown themselves, planted in their own dedicated corner of the site after Waikato Regional Council identified Tauhara as an area in need of restoration.

On the Saturday that followed, a further 2,000 plants went into the ground during a community planting day, with the land owners, whānau, and volunteers turning out again for a maunga that holds a special place in the heart of Taupō.

By the end of the two days, around 7,500 plants had been planted, made possible through He Tipu, Tongariro Corrections, and Trees for Survival, with site preparation by Ngā Mahi Kaha and support from Greening Taupō's Wicked Weeders, and kai and essentials from He Akina and our project partners.

Learn more for our partners:

Kim Manunui

Hi, I’m Kim and I work with a great team to help individuals, as well as small and not so small businesses get their message, product and services to the world using digital media and creating wonderful websites that don’t cost the earth.

I was born in Canada, and grew up around Vancouver and the mountains of British Columbia. My love of pristine environments led me to New Zealand and eventually to the mountains, lakes and rivers of the central North Island which is home. My family’s heritage is here, and it’s from here that Korio traverses the planet.

The digital world is never static and neither are we.

And I say ‘we’ because I work with an awesome group of talented people who I gather together as required to complete a project.  Whatever your business, not-for-profit or individual needs are we gather the best team to get the job done.

Collaboratively we are creative, share sustainable values and work hard for great outcomes because that’s the buzz of satisfaction that drives us.

If you have an audience and market to reach, we can make that happen. Creative design, words that work and smart behind the scenes stuff that cuts through the online noise. We’ll design your website and then build it. We’ll manage the content as well as all your hosting needs. We can handle your online advertising so you get noticed,
and we’ll manage your social media presence so you get the clicks, likes and engagement to grow your business. All within the budget you set, because none of this needs to cost the earth.  And the job doesn’t stop when your website goes live. We are your virtual business partner.

https://www.korio.co.nz
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