map
LAND STATUS: Maori Freehold Land (Te Kaha 2C2)
MANAGEMENT STATUS: Managed by landowners
pepeha
Ko Pukeahu te maunga
Ko Pakuranui te awa
Ko Mātaatua me
Horouta nga waka
Ko te Kinakina te turangawaewae
Ko te Whānau-a-Apanui,
Ko Whānau a Te Ehutu, te iwi
waiata
vision
Poipoia te Mauri me te Mana Motuhake o te whenua
The vision, to uphold the status and integrity of the whenua – ko te whenua, he taonga tuku iho – encompassing a commitment to Kaitiakitanga, that starts with the restoration of the wetlands.
The vision is to share the journey of restoring Te Kinakina wetlands with others, and in so doing, the wetlands becomes an authentic whenua-based learning space for all; and the skills, knowledge and understandings associated with Kaitiakitanga become an authentic lived experience that may instill or ignite an ethic of care and respect for the whenua … mai ra no.
This journey has to be in the company of others, for it will be the collective spirit, and the contributions we can all make to this kaupapa, that will give see it flourish.
Ko koe kei teenaa kiiwai, ko au kei teenei kiiwai o te kete
mission
Ka ora te whenua, ka ora te whānau
When the land is well we are well.
Ko koe kei tena kiwai, ko au kei tenei kiwai o te kete
To work in collaboration with whānau/hapū/iwi and with others who share a similar vision, values and principles, and a willingness to support our kaupapa.
purpose
This Operational Plan (The Plan) outlines the commitment and pathway Te Kinakina landowners follow to restore the mana and the mauri of the whenua, reinstating the wetlands on Maori Land Block Te Kaha 2C2.
The collective impact of creating ponds and growing native trees and plants will offer a space, a sanctuary for all our whanau – for fish, birds, insects, and people – thereby reconnecting us to our primal roles and responsibilities of Kaitiakitanga.
values and principles
Embedded in Te Ao Maori, serve to inspire and guide us in all aspects of our lives, and in the development of this Operational Plan OR
Drawn from Te Ao Maori, a Maori world view, positioned as we are, inextricably connected to the whenua through nga ira Atua.
Whakapapa
Knowing and honouring whakapapa, whakapapa ki te whenua, ki nga whanau, hapū, iwi.
Kaitiakitanga
Active protection of the environment, knowledge, culture, language and resources.
Manaakitanga
Respect
Ki nga uri o Nga Atua tawhito
Mauri Ora
Kia poipoia te mauri o te whenua
We acknowledge and honour the ancient life force of the whenua.
Tino Rangatiratanga
Decision making power rests with tangata whenua
Whanaungatanga
We will respect, foster, and maintain positive relationships with all our whanau, including hapū, and iwi.
our strategic focus areas
Nou te rourou, naku te rourou ka ora nga whanau katoa
The restoration of Te Kinakina wetlands will ultimately take a large village of people – many hands and many hearts – to see this project through to fruition. Building and maintaining quality relationships embedded in an ethic of care and respect is considered pivotal to engaging the support of villagers and villages.
Ka puu te ruha, ka hao te rangatahi
Engaging and working with Rangatahi is key to the transmission of intergenerational knowledge. Our duty as pakeke, kuia, kaumatua, is to weave a strong new net, for ranagatahi to be well prepared, for their future Kaiatiaki roles and responsibilities associated with the guardianship of ‘whenua’ (environment) and ‘whanau katoa’ (all living beings).
Kia poipoia te whenua (nurture and care for our whenua)
- Continue the restoration of Te Kinakina Wetlands
- Erect a 1.5km (1500m) deer fence around the wetlands area
- Construct 1200m all-ability boardwalk through the wetlands area
- Increase the numbers native trees
- Set up and manage a pest control plan
- Set up and manage noxious weeds eradication plan
Whaea e koe ki te iti kahurangi; ki te tuohu koe, me maunga teitei
Te Kinakina wetlands will offer a place for whenua-based education, open to people of all ages and abilities.
We will, in partnership with others – (teachers, artists, researchers, community groups and organisations) – develop our whenua-based education programmes embedded in Matauranga Maori. Digital technologies will be utilised to enable national and global connections with other indigenous peoples embarking on similar journeys.
We will continue to explore funding sources for capital to complete ‘Mihiwai’, Whare Wananga, and to build a Wetlands Art Studio.
Kia puea ki te Ao Marama (rise up to the world of light)
- Explore Rangahau (research) opportunities
- Explore digital knowledge hub and virtual communication spaces
- Forge working partnerships with local kura and kohanga
- Establish a whenua-based learning space for all
- Seek and secure funding for “Mihiwai” ( whare wananga space) and Te Ipo Art Studio
Toi iho (weaving the past with the future)
Making sure processes and procedures are in place so things run smoothly.
Having a sustainability plan so we are always prepared for the future
acknowledgments
The hearts and hands
Restoring Te Kinakina Wetlands was borne from an innate sense of knowing, Kathleen Morrison knew, from the day she returned home to her ancestral lands, that it would be her lifetime role and responsibility to tend to Papatuanuku, to nurse her, to care and honour her, and to protect her from any further acts of desecration.
Kathleen also knew that the task ahead of her would take time, energy, resources, and lots of awhi from others. So on behalf of Te Kinakina landowners Kathleen would like to acknowledge the awhi received from the following people:
Kainga Tahi, Kainga Rua: Te Poipoia Research Leader Dr Fiona Cram and her team, including the financial support which will cover most (if not all) of the foundation work – land preparation, tree felling, excavation work.
MPI (Ministry of Primary Industries) One Billion Trees funding from for plants and trees
Wilson Brothers for excavator Gordon Collier – a master sculptor of land
Peter Anderson, owner of Wood Chipping business who has donated truckloads of wood chips
Noel & his lads for felling the pine trees.
Coastlands Nursery – Jo Bonner who is supplying plants and trees.
Ecological Ambassador – Dr Adam Forbes who provided us with an Ecological Report and guidelines for quantities and types of plants and trees
Ecological Advisor – Stephanie Gardner from the Crimson Project
Te Paa Harakeke Advisor – Roka Hurihia-Cameron, a Master weaver, Harakeke advisor, and growing Kuta for our pond.
Longbush Ecological Reserve, Gisborne – Dr Anne Salmond and her husband Jeremy Salmond for sharing with us their Health & Safety Policy, as well as their Waikereru Management Plan.
Whānau /Hapu/ Iwi – For being present and participating in our official opening of Te Kinakina Wetlands (1 May 2021) with our first planting of cultivars in the Wetlands Te Paa Harakeke
Moving Films – Shanel Hall, our very clever niece who has put many hours into creating our Maori Girls’
ko te tohu hauora: ko te kiwi
Tiakinga nga manu ka ora te ngahere, Ka ore te ngahere, ka ora nga manu
Look after the birds and the forest flourishes. If the forest flourishes, the birds flourish.
Our ‘indicator’ for the wellbeing of Te Kinakina Wetlands is the Eastern brown Kiwi. We believe that the Eastern brown Kiwi would have once lived in close proximity to Pakuranui Stream, a waterway that snakes through Te Kinakina lowlands then out to sea. In their natural habitat, kiwis prefer places with wetland vegetation and where trees run down to the edge of the river. As they are soil feeders, kiwis like to go directly to the ground rather than negotiating the thick leaf litter of the forest. They avoid hard, compacted ground making wetlands an ideal habitat.
According to the Department of Conservation, the kiwi is one of 7 indicator species in New Zealand. If the kiwi is doing well, this means other species will be doing well.
Kiwi Female North Island Brown Kiwi Song calling her mate
Kiwi Male North Island Brown Kiwi Song calling his mate
ko te moemoeA (the dream)
Our dream is to weave for Papatuanuku a thick warm cloak in many shades of green, a multi-layed korowai that will offer nourishment and protection for her and all her mokopuna.
Is this too big or bold a dream to even dare imagine what it may/might look like in the years ahead of us?
To a time when we may…
…meander along gladed wooden pathways, catching glimpses of Pakuranui stream through stands of Kahikatea trees; and then take rest on one of a number of chunky bench seats discretely positioned amidst the wetlands. Perhaps you have chosen a bench that overlooks the ‘kuta’ pond, a pond that is 2m deep because the deeper the pond, the longer the kuta stem grows.
‘Kuta’ a reed that was once used to weave whaariki (mats), Maro (aprons), Korowai (cloaks) and other ‘kakahu’ (clothing), is still a valued weaving material and often used to make potae (hats).
Or maybe you have chosen a bench in the sensory garden, a therapeutic space designed by a local Mama and her whanau. This Mama raised two children both at the high end of the autistic spectrum, and it was she who advocated for Te Kinakina Wetlands to include a sensory garden space for children “just like” hers.
As you continue moving through the wetlands, the wooden pathway will take you through 3 large Pa Harakeke – although Harakeke has come to be known as ‘flax’ it is in fact a lily. Each Pa Harakeke is quite separate from the other two because these gardens provide weavers with different types of harakeke. The Mate Lawson Harakeke garden, established on the 1 May 2021, offers leaves best suited to weaving korowai and piupiu. The Matekino Smith garden offers leaves for weaving whariki; and the Ereti McRoberts Pa Harakeke (flax garden) offers flax for weaving kete and kono.
Ko nga Pa Harakeke are open to all weavers, so do not be surprised if you discover weavers working in “Te Ipo Here” the Wetlands Art Studio. Te Ipo Here is the name of Te Taane Tukaki’s whangai Mother, (his great Aunt). It is said that Te Ipo rode on horseback all the way to Horoera (around 1886), to collect her new baby, bringing him home to Te Kaha where Te Taane lived for the rest of his life.
It is through Te Taane Tukaki and his wife Mihiwai (nee Kahara) that Te Kinakina land owners are descended.
You may wish to spend time in Te Ipo Here Art Studio yourself, perhaps you had read on Te Kinakina Website that Te Ipo Art Studio is open to all to share…I hope you have brought your sketch book with you, or a pen to write short story in your notebook? Have you see the armchair there, next to the large window that looks the ferns? That would be a very comfortable place to sit. Can you see the bees and tui feeding from the korare (Harakeke flowers)? Can you see the plump kereru perched up in the kowhai tree/puriri)?
Are those buzzing bees? Yes we have alot of bees living here, they like to dine on korare as well; I don’t know if you notice that their hives are just over there,inside the deer fence. Jason and Lorraine have had their bee hives here for more than 10 years now. I think you might have sweetened your coffee with their honey…
Thank you for coming to visit us – and yes it is a beautiful wetlands garden.
Yes your are definetly enrolled in our Raranga workshop, the 7 day kete wananga…You’ve been following us on instagram … the kiwi breeding programme? Yes, it is very exciting – they come down to feed at night…we’ve got photographs of their prints near the ponds …
You are aware that the raranga workshop is open to adults and secondary school students? The venue is Mihiwai, it’s our whare wananga, up the hill next to Puriri House where you can stay … you want a room in the old milking shed instead? Kei te pai, but you need to know there is no bathroom over there, so you will need to come across to Mihiwai to use the shower and toilet.
We look forward to seeing you back again, tihei mauri ora.
operational matrix for te kinakina wetlands restoration project
Name of Planning Group: Maori Girls’ Charitable Trust in collaboration with Te Kinakina Landowners
Region: Te Kaha, Eastern Bay of Plenty, Aotearoa
Strategy: To provide an overview for managing the reinstatement of Te Kinakina Wetlands (Te Kaha 2C2)
Objective: To reinstate the wetlands area – total area dedicated to Te Kinakina Wetlands project is 7 ha
Ko Te Kinakina, Ko Te Ara Tipu
Key colour code:
Stages completed
Stages to be completed
Stage 1:
Fully develop the Wetlands Plan to share with whanau, to serve as a supporting document for funding applications made.
Stage 2i:
Prepare the land – regenerative seeds to condition the soil.
Stage 2ii:
Spraying – to get rid of kikuyu grass and other noxious and/or invasive plants.
Remove Pine Trees and Willow Trees
Stage 2iii:
Chip the pine and willow trees to provide mulch for weed suppression.
Stage 3:
Excavate – reinstate natural course-ways, position culverts where needed, shape the land to create natural contours to accommodate ponds.
Stage 4:
Seeking funding for Fencing, Trees, Pest Traps
Prepare and submit funding applications to DOC, Environment, Billion Trees, WWF, Maori Land Blocks for Trees and Plants
Stage 5:
Apply for funding to: build 1,000m Deer Proof Fence; purchase pest traps, and a Nursery to grow seeds.
Set up a website and include a donations page – people may wish to sponsor a tree, a wooden table, a wooden bench.
Stage 6:
Erect the Deer-Proof fence, set the traps, position the Nursery.
Stage 7i:
Plant Trees and Plants – First planting will be Harakeke and Pohutukawa trees (1st and 2nd May) and thereafter plant in sections once Deer-Proof fence erected.
Stage 7ii:
Plan and build all-ability pathways throughout the Wetlands area. Request from a family to include sensory spaces for people with Autism
Stage 7iii:
Pest control – Traps set (rats, stoats, cats, possums).
Stage 8:
Develop a Maintenance Plan with a view to securing funding to provide employment, and work experience for Gateway students.
Develop Wetlands Health & Safety Policy.
Stage 9:
- Establish a place-based learning experience education centre including an Art Studio.
- Establish a nursery to provide opportunities for community members to gather and grow local native seeds. Once plants/trees established they will be used planted out in Te Kinakina Wetlands as well being available for other whanau to plant on their whenua.
- Invite local and other kura to use Te Kinakina for Te TAIO studies.
- Kaumatua day – once week – hauora time in the wetlands followed by a meal together.
whenua inventory
In 2018 we sought guidance and advice from Winifred Geddess to develop a Whenua Plan. Winifred suggested we start by preparing a whenua inventory – what you’ve got. The next step, think about what you would like to do and connecting that back to what you’ve got. To manage this task, we used a Matrix.
te kinakina wetlands
map
LAND STATUS: Maori Freehold Land (Te Kaha 2C2)
MANAGEMENT STATUS: Managed by landowners
pepeha
Ko Pukeahu te maunga
Ko Pakuranui te awa
Ko Mātaatua me
Horouta nga waka
Ko te Kinakina te turangawaewae
Ko te Whānau-a-Apanui,
Ko Whānau a Te Ehutu, te iwi
waiata
ko te whakapapa ki ngA tUpuna, ki te kinakina
vision
Poipoia te Mauri me te Mana Motuhake o te whenua.
mission
Ka ora te whenua, ka ora te whānau
When the land is well we are well.
Ko koe kei tena kiwai, ko au kei tenei kiwai o te kete
To work in collaboration with whānau/hapū/iwi and with others who share a similar vision, values and principles, and a willingness to support our kaupapa.
values and principles
Kaitiakitanga
Active protection of the environment, knowledge, culture, language and resources.
Active protection of the environment, knowledge, culture, language and resources.
Kaitiakitanga
Active protection of the environment, knowledge, culture, language and resources.
Manaakitanga
Respect
Ki nga uri o Nga Atua tawhito
Mauri Ora
Kia poipoia te mauri o te whenua
We acknowledge and honour the ancient life force of the whenua.
Kia poipoia te mauri o te whenua
We acknowledge and honour the ancient life force of the whenua.
Tino Rangatiratanga
Decision making power rests with tangata whenua
Decision making power rests with tangata whenua
Whanaungatanga
We will respect, foster, and maintain positive relationships with all our whanau, including hapū, and iwi.
We will respect, foster, and maintain positive relationships with all our whanau, including hapū, and iwi.
our strategic focus areas
– GOAL ONE – Kia poipoia te whenua (nurture and care for our whenua)
- Continue the restoration of Te Kinakina Wetlands
- Erect a 1.5km (1500m) deer fence around the wetlands area
- Construct 1200m all-ability boardwalk through the wetlands area
- Increase the numbers native trees
- Set up and manage a pest control plan
- Set up and manage noxious weeds eradication plan
– GOAL TWO -Kia puea ki te Ao Marama (rise up to the world of light)
- Explore Rangahau (research) opportunities
- Explore digital knowledge hub and virtual communication spaces
- Forge working partnerships with local kura and kohanga
- Establish a whenua-based learning space for all
- Seek and secure funding for “Mihiwai” ( whare wananga space) and Te Ipo Art Studio
ko te tohu hauora: ko te kiwi
Tiakinga nga manu ka ora te ngahere, Ka ore te ngahere, ka ora nga manu
Look after the birds and the forest flourishes. If the forest flourishes, the birds flourish.
Our ‘indicator’ for the wellbeing of Te Kinakina Wetlands is the Eastern brown Kiwi. We believe that the Eastern brown Kiwi would have once lived in close proximity to Pakuranui Stream, a waterway that snakes through Te Kinakina lowlands then out to sea. In their natural habitat, kiwis prefer places with wetland vegetation and where trees run down to the edge of the river. As they are soil feeders, kiwis like to go directly to the ground rather than negotiating the thick leaf litter of the forest. They avoid hard, compacted ground making wetlands an ideal habitat.
According to the Department of Conservation, the kiwi is one of 7 indicator species in New Zealand. If the kiwi is doing well, this means other species will be doing well.
Kiwi Female North Island Brown Kiwi Song calling her mate
Kiwi Male North Island Brown Kiwi Song calling his mate
Whaea e koe ki te iti kahurangi; ki te tuohu koe, me maunga teitei
Te Kinakina wetlands will offer a place for whenua-based education, open to people of all ages and abilities.
We will, in partnership with others – (teachers, artists, researchers, community groups and organisations) – develop our whenua-based education programmes embedded in Matauranga Maori. Digital technologies will be utilised to enable national and global connections with other indigenous peoples embarking on similar journeys.
We will continue to explore funding sources for capital to complete ‘Mihiwai’, Whare Wananga, and to build a Wetlands Art Studio.
Nou te rourou, naku te rourou ka ora nga whanau katoa
The restoration of Te Kinakina wetlands will ultimately take a large village of people – many hands and many hearts – to see this project through to fruition. Building and maintaining quality relationships embedded in an ethic of care and respect is considered pivotal to engaging the support of villagers and villages.
Ka puu te ruha, ka hao te rangatahi
Engaging and working with Rangatahi is key to the transmission of intergenerational knowledge. Our duty as pakeke, kuia, kaumatua, is to weave a strong new net, for ranagatahi to be well prepared, for their future Kaiatiaki roles and responsibilities associated with the guardianship of ‘whenua’ (environment) and ‘whanau katoa’ (all living beings).
Toi iho (weaving the past with the future)
Making sure processes and procedures are in place so things run smoothly.
Having a sustainability plan so we are always prepared for the future
ko te moemoeA (the dream)
Our dream is to weave for Papatuanuku a thick warm cloak in many shades of green, a multi-layed korowai that will offer nourishment and protection for her and all her mokopuna.
Is this too big or bold a dream to even dare imagine what it may/might look like in the years ahead of us?
To a time when we may…
…meander along gladed wooden pathways, catching glimpses of Pakuranui stream through stands of Kahikatea trees; and then take rest on one of a number of chunky bench seats discretely positioned amidst the wetlands. Perhaps you have chosen a bench that overlooks the ‘kuta’ pond, a pond that is 2m deep because the deeper the pond, the longer the kuta stem grows.
‘Kuta’ a reed that was once used to weave whaariki (mats), Maro (aprons), Korowai (cloaks) and other ‘kakahu’ (clothing), is still a valued weaving material and often used to make potae (hats).
Or maybe you have chosen a bench in the sensory garden, a therapeutic space designed by a local Mama and her whanau. This Mama raised two children both at the high end of the autistic spectrum, and it was she who advocated for Te Kinakina Wetlands to include a sensory garden space for children “just like” hers.
As you continue moving through the wetlands, the wooden pathway will take you through 3 large Pa Harakeke – although Harakeke has come to be known as ‘flax’ it is in fact a lily. Each Pa Harakeke is quite separate from the other two because these gardens provide weavers with different types of harakeke. The Mate Lawson Harakeke garden, established on the 1 May 2021, offers leaves best suited to weaving korowai and piupiu. The Matekino Smith garden offers leaves for weaving whariki; and the Ereti McRoberts Pa Harakeke (flax garden) offers flax for weaving kete and kono.
Ko nga Pa Harakeke are open to all weavers, so do not be surprised if you discover weavers working in “Te Ipo Here” the Wetlands Art Studio. Te Ipo Here is the name of Te Taane Tukaki’s whangai Mother, (his great Aunt). It is said that Te Ipo rode on horseback all the way to Horoera (around 1886), to collect her new baby, bringing him home to Te Kaha where Te Taane lived for the rest of his life.
It is through Te Taane Tukaki and his wife Mihiwai (nee Kahara) that Te Kinakina land owners are descended.
You may wish to spend time in Te Ipo Here Art Studio yourself, perhaps you had read on Te Kinakina Website that Te Ipo Art Studio is open to all to share…I hope you have brought your sketch book with you, or a pen to write short story in your notebook? Have you see the armchair there, next to the large window that looks the ferns? That would be a very comfortable place to sit. Can you see the bees and tui feeding from the korare (Harakeke flowers)? Can you see the plump kereru perched up in the kowhai tree/puriri)?
Are those buzzing bees? Yes we have alot of bees living here, they like to dine on korare as well; I don’t know if you notice that their hives are just over there,inside the deer fence. Jason and Lorraine have had their bee hives here for more than 10 years now. I think you might have sweetened your coffee with their honey…
Thank you for coming to visit us – and yes it is a beautiful wetlands garden.
Yes your are definetly enrolled in our Raranga workshop, the 7 day kete wananga…You’ve been following us on instagram … the kiwi breeding programme? Yes, it is very exciting – they come down to feed at night…we’ve got photographs of their prints near the ponds …
You are aware that the raranga workshop is open to adults and secondary school students? The venue is Mihiwai, it’s our whare wananga, up the hill next to Puriri House where you can stay … you want a room in the old milking shed instead? Kei te pai, but you need to know there is no bathroom over there, so you will need to come across to Mihiwai to use the shower and toilet.
We look forward to seeing you back again, tihei mauri ora.