Ko Wai Mātou | unlocking kaitiaki capability
with ngā hapū o Tauranga Moana | BAY OF PLENTY
The why!
Iwi and hapū of Tauranga Moana were concerned that their voices around the Council decision making table on wai māori were not being heard and that the mātauranga they hold with respect to the awa in their rohe, was not being acknowledged. Wānanga were held, a mana motuhake vision developed, and funding received in 2024 from the Ministry for the Environment’s Te Mana o te Wai Fund for this special ‘Ko Wai Mātou’ (we are water) project to upskill hapū members in kaupapa taiao and collect data to support wai māori policy setting and decision making.
An ‘army’ of kaitiaki awa from hapū across the rohe have since been trained and equipped to conduct water quality and flow sampling, and koiora | cultural health assessments; and a significant cultural database for each awa in the rohe is being assembled.
How are we assisting?
Since its inception, TCG’s kaupapa taiao kaiurunga Pia Bennett, assisted by colleague Te Ratuhi Clements, have been integral to the design, operation and delivery of this unique project that is empowering hapū to connect with the taiao and collect their own data to support future wai māori policy decision making.
What is happening?
A project in progress, it’s an exemplar of how to conduct iwi/hapū led capacity-building in the kaupapa taiao realm. As well as creating a significant regional scientific database, project outcomes include collecting an archive of video interviews with kaitiaki awa and associated kaumatua supporting the project; and significant upskilling of mana whenua (including many rangatahi) in scientific data collection and freshwater monitoring.
The structure of the programme and training has also been designed to facilitate the inter-generational transfer of localised mātauranga about wai māori across the rohe of Tauranga Moana.
View a copy of the project summary infograph and metrics.
