Taonga hunt

Solving the te reo Maori clues during  Otago Polytechnic’s treasure hunt to find the taonga for Te Wiki o te Reo Maori (Maori Language Week) on Tuesday are Performance Excellence team members (from left) Tim Powell, Trudi McLaren and Maria Chapman. 

It was just one of  many interactive activities planned for this week to help people to improve both their te reo and knowledge of tikaka Maori.

Tumuaki whakaruruhau (Maori learner success director) Desiree Williams said the hunt was designed to inform students and staff of how much of The Hub’sbuilding was influenced by mana whenua.

"For example, the blue on the carpet is actually a reference to where the Owheo [Leith] stream once ran
on the land itself.

"Every year we see growth and a lot of that is seeing non-Maori feeling comfortable to participate in that space ... For those of us who are Maori, it make our
hearts sing to see that," she said.