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a row of people standing in front of a concrete building but behind a newly made raised garden bed with a few plants in it

Kaimahi and tauira from the School of Pharmacy and Pharmacology gathered to open and plant in the new Te Korowai o Papatūānuku garden outside the Adams Building.

With the aim of creating a living space dedicated to teaching and learning about rokoā Māori, the Faculty of Health Professional Programmes He Rau Kawakawa (School of Pharmacy and Pharmacology) has built a new rokoā garden right outside the Adams Building.

The space has been gifted the name Te Korowai o Papatūānuku, by the Deputy Pro-Vice Chancellor Māori, Associate Professor Justine Camp (Kāi Tahu, Kāti Māmoe, Waitaha) to acknowledge the protective embrace of Papatūānuku, whose gifts sustain the health and wellbeing of all living things.

Lead by the School’s Associate Dean Māori Dr Lisa Kremer (Kāi Tahu, Kāti Māmoe, Waitaha), this initiative was pursued with the intention of creating a physical space that emulates a korowai wrapping around those who enter it and offering a place of learning, reflection and connection.

An official planting and opening ceremony took place on Tuesday, 28 July and included speeches, waiata and a collective planting effort from the many kaimahi and tauira that attended.

  • three women standing singing in front of a newly made raised garden bed

    Director of Ora New Zealand Donna Kerridge (Ngāti Tahinga, Ngāti Mahuta), Pharmacy Lecturer in Hauora Māori Jaime Tutbury (Te Whakatōhea) and Associate Dean Māori Dr Lisa Kremer (Kāi Tahu, Kāti Māmoe, Waitaha) sharing in waiata at the event.

  • people bent at the waist working on a garden bed

    Tauira and kaimahi getting stuck in with planting natives right outside the Adams Building.

  • two women crouched down working in a garden bed

    Wahine tauira planting natives in some of the more challenging areas of the new Te Korowai o Papatūānuku garden.

  • people standing next to the raised garden bed talking

    Kaimahi debating where to place the new plants to best serve the space.

  • people standing to the side of a raised garden bed singing, some holding sheets of paper

    Event attendees engaging in celebratory waiata, acknowledging significance of the garden opening.

  • about eight plants in pots waiting to be planted

    Natives plants were carefully selected by those involved in preparing the garden for the opening event.

  • A person standing next to the raised bed, speaking to other people

    Faculty of Biomedical Sciences Associate Dean Māori Peter Williamson (Kai Tahu) opened the event with words of encouragement in te reo Māori.

  • a person bent down with a shovel, and another person kneeling, while putting a plant in the ground

    Not afraid to get dirty, Otago kaimahi team up to plant natives in some of the gardens more challenging spots.

The Faculty of Biomedical Sciences Associate Dean Māori, Peter Williamson (Kai Tahu), opened the event with words of encouragement in te reo Māori, before the Founder and Director of Ora New Zealand Donna Kerridge (Ngāti Tahinga, Ngāti Mahuta) shared her thoughts on the significance of the new space.

Donna is a Rokoā Practitioner who works in close partnership with Lisa on the project sharing not only her expertise on traditional Māori healing and culturally grounded practices, but her experience as an external partner who has supported the School’s hauora Māori curriculum for several years.

“Donna's guidance has been integral to the project, from the selection of plants to their placement across the different spaces outside the Adams building, she has helped ensure the garden reflects deep and considered mātauraka Māori,” Lisa says.

“We also hope the garden can serve as a shared teaching and learning space for the wider University community, by offering people from across disciplines the opportunity to engage with rokoā Māori in a hands-on, living environment, and deepening their understanding of traditional Māori approaches to health and wellbeing.”

Pharmacy Lecturer in Hauora Māori Jaime Tutbury (Te Whakatōhea) had the idea to create this garden and also shared celebratory words at the event. She also lead the two waiata that were sung and closed the celebration with a karakia.

-Kōrero by Kelsey Swart, Division of Health Sciences Communications Adviser

School of Pharmacy and Pharmacology

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