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On Thursday, 19 March 2026, the Porirua City Council approved the refreshed Climate Change Strategy 2026-2030, providing direction to address the challenges of our changing climate. This document is the result of 12 months of collaborative work across multiple council teams, reflecting their dedication to build towards a low-carbon city and proactively address the challenges of climate change.

Before the Councillors’ decision, members of the public shared their views. Among them, three rangatahi - Gloria Tuumatavai Keni Tumaai, Miriam Siave, and Macky McNamara Te Mārama - eloquently spoke about their involvement with the Porirua Assembly on Climate early 2025, and their aspirations for the future. All three are part of Future Unity, a local youth climate advocacy group launched from the Assembly.

Published in New Zealand Journal of Teachers' Work, Volume 22 No.2 (2025)

Special topic - Children's rights and Education in Aotearoa New Zealand

TE WHAKATIKA -The Aotearoa New Zealand Professional Practice Journal for Outdoor and Environmental Learning. Issue 46, Autumn 26

Last year the city hosted the Porirua Assembly on Climate, bringing together mana whenua, community members and rangatahi to answer the question: Learning to live with Porirua’s changing world together: How do we connect and respond as our climate changes? The Assembly was a first for Aotearoa, and in many ways a first internationally, bringing together mana whenua, community members and young people in a Tiriti-based process to deliberate.

One of the most powerful contributions came from tamariki and rangatahi themselves.

Young people from schools across Porirua shared their concerns about the world they will inherit through poetry, waiata and art. When they presented their whakaaro to Assembly participants, many adults said it changed how they saw the challenge ahead.

But what came next may be even more important.

Instead of the Assembly recommendations sitting on a shelf, a small group of passionate educators across Porirua decided to pick up the challenge and formed an Education Workstream to explore how climate learning could become a living part of the local curriculum.

In late February this year that work took a major step forward.

Forty-five teachers, including principals, primary kaiako, secondary educators and early childhood teachers, gathered at Pātaka to establish the Porirua Community of Practice on Climate Education. They came from twenty-five schools and ten kindergartens across the city.

That kind of turnout does not happen by accident. In the months leading up to the hui, organisers contacted every principal in Porirua to invite their schools to be part of implementing the Assembly’s climate recommendations. What followed was a day filled with conversation, reflection and shared commitment.

Kaiako heard the story of the Assembly and the role rangatahi played within it. They visited the Mutumutu ki Mukukai exhibition curated by Ngāti Toa Rangatira, which tells the story of land loss, environmental damage and the long journey to restore the harbour. They explored how local knowledge, mātauranga Māori and scientific understanding can work together in climate education.

Most importantly, they sat together as educators and asked a simple question: What are we already doing, and how can we build on it?

Across Porirua, students are already planting trees, restoring soil, exploring the science of climate systems, and learning about the history of their local environment. They are visiting the harbour, learning where their food once came from, and asking hard questions about how we care for our whenua and moana.

The difference now is that teachers are beginning to connect this work across schools.

Rather than isolated projects happening in individual classrooms, educators are forming a network to share ideas, resources and support. The seeds of a city-wide community of practice have been planted.

For kaiako, the motivation is clear. As one teacher reflected after the hui, the collaboration “brings such hope and innovation in tumultuous times.”

That hope matters, with schools today facing enormous pressure. Curriculum changes, resource constraints and competing priorities mean teachers are constantly asked to do more with less. Yet despite those pressures, Porirua’s educators are stepping forward because they recognise something fundamental: climate learning cannot be separated from the lives of the children they teach, it is their future, it is their now!

For many tamariki in Porirua, climate change is not the only issue they face. Housing and kai security, health challenges and economic pressures are often much closer to home. But connecting young people with Te Taiao, with our harbour - Te Awarua o Porirua, the whenua and their cultural identity, builds something deeper than knowledge.

It builds belonging. It builds agency.

When young people understand their place in the world, they begin to see that they have a role in shaping its future.

Climate action is often framed as something governments must solve. But lasting change also grows in the everyday places where communities learn and act together.

In Porirua, that work is already underway in our classrooms.

If you would like to tautoko this kaupapa — by sharing resources, contributing a koha toward our next hui, or offering your skills — please contact: porirua.assembly@ngatitoa.iwi.nz.

One of the recommendations from the Porirua Assembly on Climate is to create more opportunities for rangatahi to set their own kaupapa and be involved in leadership and decision-making.

As part of Youth Week 2026, 77 rangatahi from across Porirua and Te Awakairangi came together at Battle Hill Regional Park – Horokiri Valley for Ko Au Te Taiao, a youth-led day of learning, connection, and exploration in te taiao.

The event provided an opportunity for young people to build relationships, deepen their understanding of the environment, and experience the power of coming together around shared challenges and aspirations.

Led by rangatahi and supported by community partners the day encouraged young people to strengthen their relationships and explore their role as kaitiaki and leaders.

Rangatahi organisers reflected, “Being together as a community helped us to share our knowledge and support connection. We were able to learn from each other and also help each other recognise the leadership we already carry."

This kaupapa aligns strongly with the vision of Future Unity, which brings rangatahi together to connect across schools, cultures, and communities to grow leadership, belonging, and collective action. 

By connecting rangatahi with each other and with te taiao,  Ko Au Te Taiao demonstrated the importance of investing in the next generation of leaders, and community builders.

Ngā mihi nui to Greater Wellington Regional Council, Papa Taiao Earthcare, Enviroschools, Radical Action Grants, Porirua City Council, Predator Free Porirua & Conservation Volunteers and everyone who helped make this day possible.