Three Communities to Share $8M Research Fund to Revitalise te Taiao

Three pilot projects in Paeroa, Taranaki and Wānaka have each received a share of $8 million to revitalise te Taiao and share their pathway with others seeking to revitalise te Taiao in their places.

The funding recipients, announced today by the Our Land and Water National Science Challenge (Toitū te Whenua, Toiora te Wai), collectively carry the name Ngā Kaiurungi Taiao. The name refers to leaders for te Taiao steering a navigational pathway forward. The principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi – partnership, participation and protection – will guide and direct the journey between tangata whenua and tangata tiriti to revitalise Te Taiao.

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In Te Ika-a-Māui (the North Island), the Paeroa-based project Rere ki Uta, Rere ki Tai will be led by AgriSea’s Tane Bradley (Ngāti Maniapoto) and Clare Bradley. AgriSea’s seaweed innovation won the Callaghan Innovation Hi-Tech Māori Company award at the 2022 Hi-Tech New Zealand Awards.

Rere ki Uta, Rere ki Tai is bringing together indigenous knowledge and regenerative agriculture principles to create an approach to farming that focuses on oneone (soil) as the centre of an interconnected cycle, unique to Aotearoa New Zealand.

In Taranaki, Te Kāhui Rau is a hapū-based research and regeneration kaupapa that aims to reignite whānau connection to their whenua and Taiao within Ngāti Tawhirikura, Te Ātiawa Nui Tonu and beyond.

The insights from this research will enable Te Kāhui Rau to fully implement their Indigenous Regenerative Systems Framework to heal and restore the mana and mauri of te Taiao, to revitalise the health and vitality of hapū whenua and whānau.

Te Kāhui Rau will utilise mātauranga Māori and biophysical science to plant seeds and nurture growth that will benefit generations to come. At the helm of this kaupapa are Glen Skipper (Te Ātiawa Nui Tonu, Taranaki Tūturu Iwi, Ngāti Tama, Ngāti Rāru) and Bry Kopu (Ngāti Mutunga, Te Ātiawa Nui Tonu).

In Te Waka-a-Māui Te Waipounamu (the South Island), WAI Wānaka is leading the project Knowledge into Action for Te Taiao. This project is guided by a vision of healthy ecosystems and community wellbeing for future generations.

WAI Wānaka aims to take a whole-of-community and whole-of-basin approach across rural, urban and tourism sectors to increase knowledge and accelerate action that revitalises te Taiao.

WAI Wānaka is committed to accelerating local action for freshwater and te Taiao. The mighty Te Mata-Au/Clutha river flows out of the upper Clutha catchment covering a total area of 4600km².

WAI Wānaka chair Mandy Bell and project leader Prue Kane are committed to partner with tangata whenua and tangata Tiriti, the local landowners and kaitiaki mana whenua of this region to revitalise te Taiao.

Ngā Kaiurungi Taiao invite you to follow their journey:

• Revitalise Te Taiao programme, where you'll find all programme resources and major updates
• Rere ki Uta, Rere ki Tai (led by AgriSea)
• Te Kāhui Rau (led by Ngāti Tawhirikura)
• Knowledge into Action for Te Taiao (led by WAI Wānaka)