Nature Connection for Aotearoa Educators
Join us to explore the meaning and importance of nature connection in education, with our guest speakers:
Donna Kerridge - rongoā Māori practitioner, trainer and advocate
Sarah Hopkinson - educator, curriculum expert and urban gardener
Thea DePetris - environmental educator completing PhD on nature connectedness
This NZAEE webinar is the first in a series designed to support and share examples of nature connection for Aotearoa educators. Our guest speakers Donna, Sarah and Thea, will share their perspectives on nature connection in an Aotearoa context, and why it's important for educators, children and young people.
This is a free webinar but please register using the button on the left, so we can send you the Zoom link and instructions the week before. The webinar will also be recorded and sent to those who register.
Speaker Bios
Donna Kerridge (Ngāti Tahinga, Ngāti Mahuta) is the founder and director of Ora New Zealand. She is a rongoā Māori practitioner, trainer and advocate of 20+years. Donna is also a registered medical herbalist and qualified naturopath with a degree in Health Science. She has co-authored a number of peer reviewed, published research papers on the subject of rongoā Māori and two of her own small publications. She currently serves on a number of expert advisory groups representing the practice of rongoā, including: Kaihautū Rongoā for Nga Toki Whakarururanga; Advisory Council for the Global Compassion Coalition; and Elder Council for the Wellbeing Project. Watch Donna in this short film here.
Sarah Hopkinson is a māmā, a curriculum designer, an urban farmer, a storyteller and earth dreamer. Alongside education, writing and Te Tiriti work, Sarah grows food on Te Ātiawa ki Kāpiti whenua in her front yard farm, The Green Garden. Through practicing active friendships with the more than human world, she is unfurling deeper understandings of what it is to be Pākehā in relationship to land, indigenous knowledges, our shared histories and the complex systems of life. For more details, you can check out her website, or her Instagram.
Thea DePetris is an educator and researcher, currently completing the final stage of her PhD at the University of Waikato. She has a background in secondary teaching and more than 15 years experience as an environmental educator, including the development of ‘Taupō for Tomorrow’ and ‘Kids Greening Taupō’. Thea’s PhD research is focused on the network of environmental education organisations in Aotearoa NZ and their role in supporting the education system. A key component of her research explores fostering nature connection through nature-based education. Thea views her work as being grounded in the big picture theme of transforming paradigms, or in other words, shifting ways of thinking, doing and being. Read more in Te Whakatika Summer 2023 Issue.
