Toi Kori

Mātaiao ki Tāmaki

‍Mātaiao ki Tāmaki is a Sport New Zealand Ihi Aotearoa-funded initiative designed to transform how our kura engage with physical activity.

Working with kaiako from kura Māori across the Auckland region, mātauranga taiao is integrated into the curriculum to promote active, culturally grounded learning, connecting ākonga to their local environment.

Download Mātaiao Introduction Booklet

"He whakamana anō i te mātauranga Māori, kia hoki ai te Māori ki ōna akoranga taiao."
Empowering mātauranga Māori through a return to environmental learning.

Why Mātaiao?

In 2019, statistics showed that only 7% of tamariki and young people meet the national guidelines for daily physical activity.

Mātaiao addresses this through a te ao Māori worldview, re-establishing movement as a natural extension of environmental connection.

"Me puta ki tua o taumata noho."
‍Ascend beyond sedentary.

What is Mātaiao?

Underpinned by Atua Matua, Mātaiao is a kaupapa supporting kura and kaiako to implement a te ao Māori approach through whakapapa and mātauranga Māori to connect ākonga to te taiao.  

"He tirotiro ki ngā tohu o te taiao, ōna atua, ōna mātauranga, ka whakaarahia hei akoranga mā te tangata."
‍Mātaiao means to observe the world, that is, observe environmental phenomena and knowledge, and use those as a teaching and learning approach.

Te Orokohanga - The Origin

Mātaiao began with the Atua Matua Framework, developed by Dr Ihirangi Heke to reawaken knowledge of our natural environments and advance the wellbeing of our people.

Nā te kaupapa Atua Matua ko Tapuwaekura. Nā Tapuwaekura ko Mātaiao

Maiangi ake ai a Mātaiao i ngā mātāpono o Atua Matua me ngā whanaketanga o Tapuwaekura. Ko tā Mātaiao whai, ko te tūhura i te Mātauranga Māori e makuru ai te hua ora ki te tangata ki te whānuitanga me te hōhonutanga o te oranga tangata ki tā te Māori titiro.

Ngā Whāinga o Mātaiao ki Tamaki

Ka mārama te ākonga ki ngā mātāpono Mātaiao.

  • Ka ita ake te herenga o te ākonga ki te taiao.
  • Ka pakari ake te oranga tinana o te ākonga.
  • Ka mōhio te ākonga ki te whakahaere wānanga Mātaiao.
  • Ka whakahaere te ākonga i tōna anō wānanga Mātaiao ki tōna kura/wāhi mahi.
  • Ka whakauru te ākonga i ngā akoranga/mātāpono Mātaiao ki te Marautanga.

"Ko ngā Atua me ō rātou reo te tatau ki te oranga tonutanga o te taiao."
Learn from the taiao.

Maramataka Mātaiao 2026

Wānanga  Tuatahi - Mātai Nui (14 - 15 o Paenga Whāwhā ki Hoani Waititi Marae)

‍Wānanga Tuarua - Mātai Iti (8 o Haratua  9am - 3pm | Te Tūāpapa me te Hāpai ō)

‍Wānanga Tuatoru - Mātai Iti (28 o Here Turi Kōkā 9am - 3pm | Maunga Kōrero)

‍Wānanga Tuawha - Mātai Nui (28 - 29 o Mahuru | Tāwhirirangi - Te Pae Tawhiti)

Bring Mātaiao to your Kura

We support your kura in moving the classroom outdoors. Through our wānanga, we provide the training and frameworks for kaiako and ākonga to become experts in environmental observation and active learning.

If you want to learn more about Mātaiao ki Tāmaki or how you can attend a wānanga, email Chrissy Hiraani at chrissy@toitangata.co.nz

"Maranga mai he ora!"
Emanate vitality to its highest potential.

Mātaiao in Action

Explore our gallery of past wānanga and see how kura across Tāmaki Makaurau are engaging with Mātaiao.

Project Downloads

Mātaiao ki Tāmaki 2026

Atua Matua Health Framework

 Project News
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Other Projects

Toi Tangata Hui ā-Tau 2025

Atua Matua

Growing the Puna

Find out more about

Mātaiao ki Tāmaki

Case Studies

Discover how Mātaiao ki Tāmaki is redefining physical education in kura kaupapa Māori across Auckland.

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Sport Northland

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Sport Northland

At Sport Northland, our Whaiao team’s approach to tākaro is simple - tākaro is ingrained in our DNA! Whaiao speaks to moving from the unknown into knowing, a constant pursuit of knowledge and enlightenment alongside the whānau we serve.

Pārete is the philosophy that guides us. As Nau Epiha says, “Ehara taku mahi i te ako, he Pārete kē.” Pārete represents the first waka that broke the wave and set the course for those that followed. It is about guiding and being guided - a kaupapa that underpins all we do!

For us, one of the fundamentals of tākaro is whanaungatanga. Not just in the sense of connection between people, but as energy, resonance, and frequency. Currently much of our mahi is with netball, embedding mātauranga, tikanga mahi, and tikanga whakaaro into all aspects of tākaro to enhance Māori wellbeing.

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Te Kete Hauora o Rangitāne

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Te Kete Hauora o Rangitāne

At Te Kete Hauora o Rangitāne, our approach to tākaro is centredon our rangatahi — because tākaro grows future leaders. To us, investing in ourrangatira mō āpōpō means creating kaitākaro who are confident to take up roleson the marae, as kaikaranga, kaikōrero, ringawera, and supporting confident reospeakers.

Kī o Rahi is currently a major drawcard for us. Through this game, weintroduce tamariki to local Rangitāne pūrākau, now integrated with theTawakeroa health model and the seven pou representing each pou within the kēmu.

Taonga tākaro enables us to deliver tākaro into schools, weaving te reoMāori into play, encouraging maximum exposure and participation. Tamariki learnhaka, waiata, and pūrākau through tākaro, connecting culture, language, andmovement in every session!

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Te Papa Tākaro o Te Arawa

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Te Papa Tākaro o Te Arawa

At Te Papa Tākaro o Te Arawa, our approach to tākaro is rooted in Te Arawatanga, a Te Arawa-centric way of playing, learning, and growing.

Through kōrero o nehe and whakapapa-based approaches, all kēmu, kōrero and mātauranga are delivered through a local Te Arawa lens. We believe tākaro is mātauranga in practice and a foundational vehicle across whare wānanga, where skills and knowledge can grow.

Indigenous excellence is a central focus, where we also aim to build an athletic pathway, using tākaro to identify talent and cultivate whakapapa-informed athletic skills. These pathways lead to indigenous tākaro events and competitions, connecting movement, culture, and identity.

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Whiti Ora Tairāwhiti

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Whiti Ora Tairāwhiti

At Whiti Ora Tairāwhiti, our approach to tākaro carries our taonga tuku iho! Whakapapa is the anchor of our mahi - culturally rich, inclusive, grounded, and central to how we transmit kōrero and whakapapa through play.

As descendants of Māui in our region, connected to Hikurangi maunga, our programmes, activities, and initiatives are tied to our local pūrākau as the foundation of our identity and practice. Tākaro is te reo, waiata, haka; it is puta ki waho, play with words, our banter — that’s our kind of play too!

Tākaro is a new word for us, we use pūrei! Intergenerational pūrei honours what we remember, recall, and recollect as we play together across generations. It is the katakata o ngā kuia and the menemene o ngā mokopuna.

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Kōkiri Marae Keriana Olsen Trust

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Kōkiri Marae Keriana Olsen Trust

At Kōkiri Marae Keriana Olsen Trust, our approach to tākaro is guided by the vision and purpose of those that laid the foundation of the place. One of the basic objectives of the trust being “to keep our culture alive.” tākaro and kēmu are exceptional vehicles for doing this.

Two initiatives we are a part of facilitating and assisting in the development are; Ngā Rā o Kupe a Kaupapa we are developing that will enable whānau/community to learn and participate in Waka sailing, and secondly a collaborative project funded by the LEGO foundation and guided by Indigenous approaches to construct a papa tākaro at Wainuiomata Marae alongside the community.

Rangatahi Tū Rangatira (one of many Kokiri Marae services) is a kaupapa that has been involved in tākaro for many years and facilitates activities in the community. We want to see tākaro and kēmu in every space and place across our community. We also want to see others become the knowledge holders for their whānau and the next generation. ‘Tākaro ki te Ao!'

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Hawaiki Kura

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Hawaiki Kura

At Hawaiki Kura, our approach to tākaro is grounded in using taonga tuku iho as rongoā – ancestral treasures as pathways to healing and transformation. Our sacred intent is to use laughter as medicine, to reawaken the inner tamaiti within us all.

Our ultimate vision is Hawaiki Ora, where Hawaiki Tū (cultural reclamation), Hawaiki Āio (collective healing), and Hawaiki Hono Mai (deep connection to community) are all in abundance.

We draw on taonga tākaro, taonga puoro, mau patu and haka fusion to shift mauri and lift ihirangaranga. Because if we reindigenise the way we move, we reindigenise the way we think!

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Toi Tangata

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Toi Tangata

At Toi Tangata, our approach to tākaro is grounded in the reclamation, application and transmission of mātauranga Māori through play. When we bring our pūrākau to life through play, movement and physical activity, we bring our tūpuna to life!

We believe tākaro is a pathway to oranga tangata — fostering wellbeing, identity, and belonging. Its ultimate kura huna is the deep knowing of who you are and how you move in relationship with others and the taiao.

When we embrace tākaro ki te taiao, the natural world ignites imagination and sparks creativity. A world where play is guided by curiosity, connection to place, and the endless exploration of who we are.

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