Hidden stories of our landscapes: Walking and mapping the land with children

Abstract

This article is based on a 2-year TLRI-funded research project that examined how three early childhood centres explored the ways in which walking, reading, and storying the land with teachers, community members, iwi, and whānau enabled children to experience and learn about their local area, its stories, geology, biodiversity, and cultural meanings, and envision democratic socioecological futures. This article focuses on Pakuranga Baptist Kindergarten, one of the research settings that participated in this study. It analyses how the kindergarten’s inquiry-based approach, relational pedagogy, and use of walking, storytelling, and arts deepened children’s knowledge, understanding, and relationships with people and place.