Aroha

Aroha was one of only four Year 13 students in this mixed class. She was of mixed Maori and Pacific Island descent. She was a quiet, shy student who attended the class irregularly. She lacked self confidence and did not initially handle challenges posed in the class well, but she did attend the planting field trip and enjoyed it (Aroha, post unit questionnaire). For her action during the intervention, she decided to build a vegetable garden at home as a way of reducing her family‘s carbon footprint. She carried out a survey with each family member to get their written responses (Aroha, log book p3-8), which were positive to her idea. She believed it would reduce the family‘s carbon footprint by reducing the number of trips to the supermarket and reducing the distance that some of their

food had travelled. She had read about how London is trying to encourage people to put in gardens everywhere so they could have 2012 gardens by 2012 to help supply Londoners with fresh food during the Olympics. This research suggested using rooftops, canal banks, and old railway lines and she was inspired (article in log p. 25 and commented on in report p. 2). Her parents felt it was a great idea and fitted in well with traditional values from both Maori and Pacific sides of the family. Her Mum pointed out that it would be healthier as well (Mum‘s survey response, Aroha, log book p.7).

Aroha knew what she ―wanted done and how I wanted it to happen‖ (Aroha, report p. 2). She chose a corner of the home section that got a lot of sunlight and one weekend the family got stuck in and put up a small barrier and dug some ground and added what Aroha described as ―fertile compost soil‖ and provided photos showing dark fertile soil inside low brick wall, (Aroha, log book p 32/33).

Deciding what vegetables to plant was easy as the family ate a lot of salads, so they chose tomatoes, lettuce, carrots and spring onions. Her father told her how to protect them using a 2L coke bottle with the bottom cut out. This sheltered the plants and acted as a small greenhouse, he told her (Aroha, log book, p. 32/33).

Dad had done most of the digging and Mum helped with planting. Aroha took lots of photos of the different stages to provide proof of her action (Aroha, plan records intention to take photos log book, p11).

Aroha felt that her action held a lot of importance for her family culturally as Mum is part Maori and Dad is Polynesian (Aroha, report p. 31, also commented to me in class 18^th September 2009). The family enjoyed being outside together and her Mum explained how by doing this they were getting closer to Papatuanuku (Earth Mother) and said ―by planting seeds we are putting life into the ground and replenishing it with compost which was once alive, we are making new life, and becoming part of the cycle and keeping the cycle alive itself….‖ (Aroha, conversation with parents, written into log book p31). Her Dad believed doing this helped us get in contact with our roots ―because growing up in today‘s world is so different from when I grew up, I think that making this garden together has helped us remember our roots and ancestry‖ (Aroha, conversation with parents written into log book p31).

Aroha related (Aroha, report p5) that her boyfriend was so impressed that he told his mother and she then decided to plan and put a garden in. Aroha hoped her boyfriend‘s Mum would tell her friends and that they might also try gardening at home (Aroha, report p5).

When it came time to print the photos that Aroha had taken of the gardening, she discovered that her younger sister had wiped them when she had taken the camera to a friend‘s place. Aroha was very upset. In a conversation that I had with her subsequently in class (Aroha, informal discussion, 6^th November 2009), it became apparent that the younger sister was much more outgoing and got away with a lot at home and Aroha was reluctant to challenge her over anything. I suggested that she talk to her parents about the situation rather than give up. She did so and was elated the next school day to say that the situation had been dealt with at home in a way she had never thought possible. More photos, taken by flashlight and accompanied by a letter from her father were handed in with her report and in her log.

This story illustrates how a student who had a positive attitude, but not a lot of confidence, followed through the process from class and was able to complete an action. Initially she attended the class planting trip and enjoyed it. This helped her to develop a positive attitude. Aroha did not document the work on culture from class but did include in her log book views from her parents, one of whom is Maori and the other Pasifika. She had good research skills and found the article that inspired her which was on Londoners preparing to supply themselves with fresh food during the Olympics, and another article on how Michelle Obama was going to grow vegetables for the White House. U.S. President Obama had just been elected and the class was very interested in the move to the White House.

This came up in class as something they were following in their own time. Aroha then found detailed information on making a garden and growing vegetables and was later able to reflect on the links between growing vegetables on local and city scales and how this helped the environment. This demonstrated she could find appropriate knowledge of a range of types and analyse it, use it and reflect on it.

While working on the garden she and her parents talked about how this linked in with how they were brought up and how what they were doing linked to specific

cultural values. This is actually a very cultural approach, discussing the values and importance of something while actually doing it. These discussions enabled Aroha to make connections and helped her to finish her action. While Aroha did not write much about her vision of sustainability, she did write specifically on how this was helping her family and so could be seen as a small local vision. The other important step for Aroha was being prepared to talk with her parents about the missing photos. The positive outcome not only enabled her to finish her assignment on her action and so gain credits, but also helped in her family relationships (personal communication to me, 18^th November 2009).

The overall outcome for this student is she developed certain skills and become more aware of who she is and what she can do. She has moved towards becoming more action competent in sustainability in her life.