They included Maketu oil cleaner volunteers, international environmental students from Waiariki Polytechnic, Ministry for the Environment, Environmental Protection Agency, Maritime NZ, iwi representatives, Bay of Plenty Regional Council staff, Department of Conservation, Waikato University and Bay of Plenty Polytechnic, Manaaki Te Awanui, kura kaupapa Maori students from Te Kura Kokiri.
Topics covered included assessing the impacts on mauri, volunteering, cultural impacts of the oil spill on Te Arawa and Maketu and toxicity in marine algae from Rena.
"The Rena disaster was the impetus for the formation of the Te Arawa Ki Tai Trust. The Trustees have been involved in issues from the oil clean up to the recovery phase, but also in other taiao matters around waterways and the moana.
"The Te Arawa ki Tai objective is to grow kaitiaki and kaitiakitanga. The Rena disaster was a wake-up call. We all need to pay attention to building environmental resilience, and that includes growing the capacity of our people, from our pipi pickers to our professors.
"Organising the symposium is another step in the recovery phase for Te Arawa, and another task ticked off the list of the committee. It's actually a relief to have been able to have organised for the community to hear these research findings."
The Otamarakau marae venue had just opened a new wharekai, Ruapotango, which was used for the seminar.
"The wharekai was a great venue and the ideal place to hold a seminar on the moana. The proverb adopted for the seminar, 'Whakarongo ki a Tangaroa - he tohu' is a message about staying close to nature and not becoming complacent," Mrs Bennett said.
