Latest news with #mātaurangaMāori
Scoop
6 days ago
- General
- Scoop
Ngāti Ira Secures Historic Publishing Partnership With Auckland University Press For "Tanewhirinaki"
Landmark book to tell untold story of Te Tarata battle and its aftermath from iwi perspective ahead of 160th commemoration Te Rua Rakuraku, pou tikanga of Ngāti Ira is proud to announce that the research group that has been leading the Ngāti Ira raupatu claims, have secured a publishing contract with Auckland University Press to publish "Tānewhirinaki " a groundbreaking book that will tell their story of survival, resistance, and hope in the aftermath of one of New Zealand's most devastating periods of colonial confiscation for the peoples of Te Whakatōhea. Tanewhirinaki meeting house, rebuilt at Waioeka pa in 1886, after relocating it from Maraetahi Pā where rangatira Hira Te Popo had erected it as a house of wānanga and refuge for Te Kooti at Maraetahi, where they had fled after the battle of Te Tarata in 1865. It never stood for long due to the Napier earthquake, however the whare was constructed using a traditional knowledge of the mīmiro method, mātauranga Māori that in endangered of being lost, without the assistance of modern day architects who will capture this knowledge, document and record it. 'The next generation of Ngāti Ira intend to rebuild the whare again, and working with the Auckland University's School of Architecture and Planning to make it happen.' says Te Rua Rakuraku, pou tikanga for Ngāti Ira hapū and direct descendant of the 1860 rangatira, Hira Te Popo. The publication announcement comes at a particularly significant time as Te Whakatōhea prepares to host the 160th commemorations of the Battle of Te Tarata on October 4th this year in Ōpōtiki, marking one of the most pivotal moments in the New Zealand Wars that forever changed the landscape of Te Whakatōhea and their hapū territories. "This book represents more than just a historical account," says Rakuraku. "Tanewhirinaki symbolises our enduring hope, resilience and reclamation and our commitment to ensuring the sacrifices of our tīpuna and our people's resilience are never forgotten. Through this partnership with Auckland University Press, we can share our story with the dignity and reach it deserves." The publisher, Auckland University Press, brings significant academic credibility and distribution capability to this important historical work. The partnership ensures "Tanewhirinaki" will reach both academic and general audiences, contributing to a more complete understanding of New Zealand's colonial history. The book aims to provide a comprehensive account from Ngāti Ira's perspective of these traumatic events and their long-lasting consequences, offering insights that have been largely absent from mainstream historical narratives. It is also hoped that the book will be translated in te reo Māori as well.
Otago Daily Times
7 days ago
- Science
- Otago Daily Times
Sights set on resurrection
It is a bold scenario worthy of a hollywood director. Imagine the camera rising to an extreme long shot, revealing a dramatic landscape dotted with large flightless birds. Genetic engineering firm Colossal Biosciences is offering a hint that one day this image will become less film fiction and more scientific fact. It recently announced plans to resurrect the extinct South Island giant moa in collaboration with the Ngāi Tahu Research Centre, film-maker Sir Peter Jackson, scientist Paul Scofield and the University of Canterbury. Standing up to 3.6m tall and weighing 230kg, the giant moa disappeared from Te Waipounamu about 600 years ago, hunted to extinction two centuries after Polynesian settlement. Colossal will work closely with the Ngāi Tahu Research Centre to integrate mātauranga Māori, traditional knowledge, in its approach, providing for indigenous leadership in scientific innovation. Ngāi Tahu Research Centre director Prof Mike Stevens said during the 14th and 15th centuries, moa provided meat for sustenance and bones and feathers for tools and decoration, especially in Te Waipounamu. "The loss of moa, through over-harvesting and habitat modification, was a salutary lesson as to the New Zealand archipelago's 'fragile plenty'." Ngāi Tahu was particularly excited by this project because of the extent to which it enabled Ngāi Tahu to exercise rangatiratanga (leadership) and tikanga (customs) and the potential to bring ecological and economic aspirations into a singular frame. Colossal chief science officer Beth Shapiro said birds were among the most endangered species in New Zealand and around the globe, but had the fewest biotechnological tools available to protect them. "Because of their unique reproductive system, for example, it is not possible to 'clone' birds in the way that Dolly the sheep was cloned, so a new approach is needed to pass edits in DNA to the next generations." As Colossal developed tools for intra-species surrogacy, captive management and re-wilding, each of these technologies would be extendable to other species. "We will create genomic resources for living species that improve our capacity to manage them and participate in ecosystem restoration projects that will benefit living species." Colossal gained worldwide media attention recently when it revealed what it described as the return of the dire wolf, an American predator that had been extinct for more than 10,000 years. Using ancient samples of dire wolf DNA and genetic engineering as well as domestic hounds as surrogate mothers, three dire wolves were birthed. To resurrect the giant moa, Colossal was evaluating two of the closest living relatives of moa as surrogate hosts, the tinamou and the emu, Dr Shapiro said. "This is a long-term project and partnership and we are hopeful that the first chicks will be born within a decade." Whether de-extinction is legally possible within the country's existing biotechnology and environmental laws is something that will require further investigation. As a new concept, as far as she was aware, no country had laws explicitly focused on de-extinct species, Dr Shapiro said. "Our goal is to work with our partners in Aotearoa New Zealand to explore the regulatory frameworks that would apply to our and other conservation work and to develop pathways for these tools to be used to introduce de-extinct species and augment existing conservation work."
Scoop
23-07-2025
- Health
- Scoop
The Trusts Strengthen Support For Rivercare Group Te Wai O Pareira With New Sponsorship
The Trusts are proud to announce a strengthened partnership with Rivercare Group Te Wai o Pareira, a community-led environmental organisation working to restore the health and mauri of one of West Auckland's most important waterways, Te Wai o Pareira (Henderson Creek). The new sponsorship builds on a longstanding relationship that began in 2021, enabling Rivercare Group to continue their impactful mahi across the entire catchment, from the Waitākere Ranges to Te Atatū Peninsula. Their work is guided by a blend of mātauranga Māori and Western science, and focused on community empowerment, ecological restoration, and advocacy. 'The Trusts has been a supporter of Rivercare Group since 2021, and has been one of the pillars of support for our group to become what it is today,' says Alan Clist, of Rivercare Group Te Wai o Pareira. 'We are delighted that our relationship with The Trusts has been strengthened with this Sponsorship agreement. This relationship will enable us to continue to have a lasting positive impact on the environment in West Auckland, with SafeSwim monitoring on Te Wai o Pareira now established, our advocacy with Watercare to reduce sewage overflows having an impact, our advocacy with Healthy Waters to improve environmental outcomes of stormwater outflows, pest control, Tawa Esplanade Reserve restoration and an education programme reaching hundreds of children.' Rivercare Group's achievements to date are a testament to what grassroots, well-organised community efforts can accomplish: • Over 40 advocacy meetings with Watercare, Auckland Council, Healthy Waters, local boards and government representatives • Over 20 public planting and restoration events, with nearly 2,000 native trees planted and a significant volume of invasive plants removed • 2,400 conservation education interactions with tamariki across local schools • A pest control programme that has removed 230 pests from key habitats • More than 100 water quality tests carried out to monitor the awa's health The Trusts' sponsorship will directly support the coordination of environmental restoration at Orangihina Reserve alongside mana whenua Te Kawerau ā Maki and other groups including Community Waitākere, Forest & Bird Te Atatū Peninsula, Birds NZ, Sustainable Coastlines, and Conservation Volunteers. 'This is exactly the kind of long-term, community-driven initiative we are proud to support,' says Allan Pollard, CEO at The Trusts. 'Rivercare Group Te Wai o Pareira are kaitiaki in action, restoring, educating, advocating, and leading the way for a healthier future for all of West Auckland.'
Scoop
23-07-2025
- Health
- Scoop
The Trusts Strengthen Support For Rivercare Group Te Wai O Pareira With New Sponsorship
The Trusts are proud to announce a strengthened partnership with Rivercare Group Te Wai o Pareira, a community-led environmental organisation working to restore the health and mauri of one of West Auckland's most important waterways, Te Wai o Pareira (Henderson Creek). The new sponsorship builds on a longstanding relationship that began in 2021, enabling Rivercare Group to continue their impactful mahi across the entire catchment, from the Waitākere Ranges to Te Atatū Peninsula. Their work is guided by a blend of mātauranga Māori and Western science, and focused on community empowerment, ecological restoration, and advocacy. "The Trusts has been a supporter of Rivercare Group since 2021, and has been one of the pillars of support for our group to become what it is today," says Alan Clist, of Rivercare Group Te Wai o Pareira. "We are delighted that our relationship with The Trusts has been strengthened with this Sponsorship agreement. This relationship will enable us to continue to have a lasting positive impact on the environment in West Auckland, with SafeSwim monitoring on Te Wai o Pareira now established, our advocacy with Watercare to reduce sewage overflows having an impact, our advocacy with Healthy Waters to improve environmental outcomes of stormwater outflows, pest control, Tawa Esplanade Reserve restoration and an education programme reaching hundreds of children." Rivercare Group's achievements to date are a testament to what grassroots, well-organised community efforts can accomplish: • Over 40 advocacy meetings with Watercare, Auckland Council, Healthy Waters, local boards and government representatives • Over 20 public planting and restoration events, with nearly 2,000 native trees planted and a significant volume of invasive plants removed • 2,400 conservation education interactions with tamariki across local schools • A pest control programme that has removed 230 pests from key habitats • More than 100 water quality tests carried out to monitor the awa's health The Trusts' sponsorship will directly support the coordination of environmental restoration at Orangihina Reserve alongside mana whenua Te Kawerau ā Maki and other groups including Community Waitākere, Forest & Bird Te Atatū Peninsula, Birds NZ, Sustainable Coastlines, and Conservation Volunteers. 'This is exactly the kind of long-term, community-driven initiative we are proud to support,' says Allan Pollard, CEO at The Trusts. 'Rivercare Group Te Wai o Pareira are kaitiaki in action, restoring, educating, advocating, and leading the way for a healthier future for all of West Auckland.'
NZ Herald
16-07-2025
- Science
- NZ Herald
Getting hands on with science creating ‘good scientific citizens'
Cunningham said getting more young wāhine involved in stem requires them to have people they can model themselves after. 'If they see somebody in there that's succeeding then they tend to go 'oh yeah I can do this too.' In my earlier years teaching science it was all textbook stuff and I just looked at the kids and they just weren't engaged or anything.' As part of the fair, the school's Year 9 and 10 classes work as part of a collective on a pilot programme called Manaaki Mauri, which involves the ecological restoration of the Sanatorium Reserve, a nationally significant geothermal landscape on the edge of central Rotorua. 'So the long-term goal is to get it back to what it was before the human impacts and so most of our projects revolve around that,' Cunningham said. Students have the chance to look at plastic pollution and its effect on native species in the reserve, including the endangered tarāpuka or black-billed gull and a colony of long-tailed bats, she said. Students from Rotorua Girls' High School with their projects at Te Tūkohu Ngāwhā Mātauranga Māori Science and Design Fair in 2024. Photo / Supplied, Te Arawa Lakes Trust Giving students the chance to engage in hands-on science out in the field helps to create 'good scientific citizens', she said. 'I've watched these kids go from 'I can just litter anywhere, it doesn't affect me' to actually thinking more about our effects that we have on our taiao [environment]. 'With that connection comes immediate engagement because it's real, it's not going away, it's not fairytale atoms and chemicals... it's actually robust and real for them.' Cunningham said she had absolutely seen more of an interest in science from her students since they began to enter the fair. Te Tūkohu Ngāwhā has given the teachers an avenue to teach science through Papatūānuku and through mātauranga Māori, she said. 'Rather than teach to the curriculum, actually make it real and engaging for our young people, especially our young women, because they are going to be the ones that in the future need to look after our whenua and taiao.' Te Tūkohu Ngāwhā event coordinator Keeley Grantham. Photo / Supplied, Te Arawa Lakes Trust Te Tūkohu Ngāwhā event coordinator Keeley Grantham said engaging with students directly was often the best way to get them involved. 'I think the best way to get any young rangatahi, but especially young wāhine, involved is actually just having a kōrero to them from our perspective as wāhine in science. 'To showcase that it's not just this scary environment of labcoats and Bunsen burners and that science is much broader than that, you can be out in the field, you can research a whole heap of different things and having that face to face engagement and showcasing them things in the field is what I find has the biggest impact.' Grantham said that since the fair began five years ago, there has been a gradual increase in the number of young wāhine entering, but having Rotorua Girls' involved specifically has really given it a boost. 'This event is growing every year, I mean we've got nearly 250 kids coming along to the event next week to actually participate and share their ideas, so that's 250 minds combining to look at issues in our taiao.' Grantham acknowledged the effort from the tamariki who have entered projects in the fair this year, as well as kaiako (teachers) and whānau who support them. -RNZ
