~Please click on the photo above for video~
Last year Tauranga Rotary sponsored the Greerton Community Garden by purchasing the wood for the raised beds.
At the “Matariki Opening” of the Gardens Helen Quirk, who co-ordinated the project thanked all who contributed to the project. She went on to explain that “the Māori name of Greerton School is Te Kura o Maarawaewae, which means the dirty feet that walked the gardens many years ago. The gardens sustained many people around the Bay of Plenty Region.
As one of the students said, “It’s like bringing a bit of history back into our school”. And he’s right.
“Nāku te rourou nāu te rourou - ka ora ai te iwi” -
This saying literally means – with your basket and my basket the people will thrive. But the metaphorical meaning is that when we combine our skills and knowledge together, there is greater potential for success, and our garden is a wonderful example of the sharing of skills, knowledge and resources.
Matariki is a time to appreciate what we have, celebrate our hard work and connects us to our environment. It is also a time to reflect on the past and remember those who have passed away, and finally, it is a time to look ahead to the future and aspire to achieve new goals. Today we are making time to do all of these things”. The garden will be enjoyed by the school children and also the preschoolers in the area.
Following the formal ceremony and waiata, visitors were invited in to share the lovely vegetable soup that the children had prepared from the produce from their gardens. The students then showed us around the gardens explaining the meaning of the nine po which each represented one of the stars of Matariki.