Centralis scholar explores environmentalism in New Zealand

Spending a night with the indigenous Polynesian people of New Zealand gave a Central Michigan University senior a unique exposure to the spiritual side of environmentalism.

Megan Hart, a Centralis scholar at Central Michigan University, stayed with the Māori tribe, the indigenous Polynesian people of New Zealand, for a night. The tribe held a welcome ceremony for the class and sang songs to introduce themselves. Hart also stayed in their long house.

Hart, a Central Michigan University broadcast and cinematic arts major, attended a faculty-led trip by Recreation, Parks and Leisure Services Administration instructors Bob Dvorak and Jordan Bruursema through the Honors Program this past summer.

“It was probably the most emotional event of the trip,” Hart said. “One day, Hart hiked into their spiritual land, and the tribe explained that in their Māori culture, the water is Mother Earth, and the sky is Father Sky. It’s one of those places where the water was coming out of the Earth and meeting the sky, and it was very feminine. The tribe had each student walk down this trail and notice things. I was walking and sobbing.”

Hart was honored to experience their special place. One of the tribe members also explained that they don’t walk up to the top of the pools because they are very sacred.

Her trip to New Zealand focused on environmental efforts. Altogether, the class planted over 400 trees or native plant species.

“It was really cool to see us work together and notice how much of an impact we had when 17 people compared to 2-3 people working at the conservation,” Hart said.

The class also visited a wildlife conservation park. Hart learned that colonists brought over a bunch of mammals like ferrets, squirrels, pigs and other species. They did not have any predators. Colonists set up traps in the woods on trails to catch these animals.

Hart experienced whale watching, shopping and exploring in Kaikura as well.

Throughout her trip, Hart learned about proper leadership techniques and Leave No Trace principles. The class was split into pairs of two to three people to teach one of the principles of Leave No Trace.

“Leave No Trace includes don’t litter, don’t go off the trail, let’s not touch animals and leave it better than you found it,” Hart said. “During that time, Hart had to adapt as a leader and keep going even if she faced a little difficulty.”

During the hike, she was able to enjoy the culture of New Zealand while leading a group of people through the woods. When a student conducted their activity, the leader also planned where they were going to hike that day.

“The day I was a leader, I fell into the river, and my pants were soaking wet,” Hart said. “I can’t show my emotions right now, I’m supposed to be showing everyone where we’re going and using the map. It was kind of funny.”

Hart was able to attend this trip thanks to her Centralis study abroad funds awarded by the Honors Program. She gained interest through an Honors Program email regarding courses and impulsively decided she was going on this trip.

“I looked into the trip a bit and I like hiking, but I’ve never done backpacking before. Then, I decided I was going to sign up,” Hart said.

Before leaving New Zealand, Hart and some friends decided to get tattoos on their last day to have a permanent gift from their experience.

“While in New Zealand, I felt like I could actually breathe and I did not have to look at my phone every two seconds,” Hart said. “I can just enjoy nature and it was very therapeutic.”

“Because we were flying, driving, hiking, cooking, living, and learning together, the group of 15 students, and even the two instructors, became a really close group,” Hart said. “To this day, I still keep in contact with many of them and give them a 'Kia Ora' or 'hello' when I see them on campus. It was my first time really abroad, and this group made it so easy to be far, far away from home.”