7 June 2008
An organic biodynamic farm in Kaitoke, Upper Hutt, hosted an event to celebrate Mātāriki, the Maori New Year, and World Environment Day.
People attended throughout the day and listened to talks from, among other speakers, Dr Ocean Mercier from Victoria University, who spoke about the importance of Mātāriki, and Catherine Collins and Lydia Mabbett, who talked about practical ways to reduce carbon by composting and worm farming waste.
In addition to the sharing of ideas and knowledge, the afternoon saw 400 trees planted as part of wetland restoration and four large buckets of waste diverted from landfill, which were then recycled in an on site worm farm.
The celebration was organised by Violet Phoenix Ltd and drew a diverse crowd, with groups ranging from the kapahaka group Tiwhanawhana and Maori resource management students, to members of the Ethiopian community and local families.
See the Kicking the Carbon Habit at Matariki web album for more photos.
