Houkura: growing an environmental learning hub for Kāpiti

Houkura - an Environmental Education Hub for Kāpiti Coast

Imagine a thriving green space where students of all ages learn to grow food, restore native ecosystems, and build sustainable futures. That's the vision for our new eco-hub on the Kāpiti Coast. We're creating a kura taiao - an environmental place of learning in the heart of Raumati, beside the Raumati Technology Centre - which is a place that bridges classrooms with nature. Our name, Houkura, provides a kaupapa to guide our way in the world. It is a place of peace, prosperity and abundance. It is also a place of learning from our past to create a new future. The whenua/ site was previously occupied by Ngati Puketapu of Te Atiawa and links us to the creation of the sand dunes and wetlands of this area. We acknowledge the important place of tangata whenua and our role as tangata tiriti, working together in ensuring the enduring nature of people in place. This precious undeveloped dune and wetland, is perfectly positioned between Kāpiti College, Kāpiti Marae, Raumati Beach School, and local kindergartens. Our mission is ambitious yet achievable: To restore the repo/ wetlands with rongoā rākau/ native trees and to establish a thriving maara kai/ food forest and gardens, to transform the landscape into a kura taiao/ a living classroom. Here, intergenerational learners will both remember and discover anew, hands-on skills in sustainable living, food production, and environmental care. Our kaupapa is values led. Meaning we work to core ethical values, that support us to make both strategic project decisions but also guide our daily behaviour.

The key is not to ‘helicopter in’ a ready made garden but to ‘learn from observing the whenua - ’ and to ‘learn through doing’, creating the living classroom literally as we grow.

We have already achieved a lot with students of all ages. Now we need funding towards drawing up a landscape plan for the wider 1.5ha site, in consultation with our community. We need to pay a Project Manager, strengthening relationships, developing a web presence and community-led plan to build infrastructure like tracks and areas of significance to the future. A strength of this project is the numbers of people already involved. As well as the 1,000 Year 7-8 students from 11 Kāpiti Coast schools (from Paekakariki to Waikanae) passing through RTC each week, there are 2,000+ students at the neighbouring college, primary school and ECEs, and evening/weekend classes run at the RTC for the wider community. This isn't just another school project—it's an exemplar for suburban environmental education. With your support, partnering with mana whenua, schools and environmental groups, we'll create a regenerative space that inspires our community to reconnect with nature, respect Papatūānuku (mother Earth), grow food, and build a healthier planet for generations to come.

Here’s a link about the innovative RTC sustainability programme:

Houkura: An enduring place for learning, peace and prosperity  

Kia houkura te whenua, ka houkura te taangata - when the land prospers, so too do the people.