Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air
See below for English translation
Ko Tūkohu Ngāwhā 2023 te kaupapa whakahirahira
Ka tuaruangia te kaupapa Pūtaiao Mātauranga Māori ki Rotorua i runga i tana tūnga ati i te tau ko pahemo, engari ka tāpiringia he wāhanga whakataetae toi. E pūare ana ngā tatau rēhita ki te hunga tau rima tae noa ki te tau kotahi tekau mā toru. Ko Tūkohu Ngāwhā, e rua mano, e rua tekau mā toru te tau te kaupapa. E toru rā te roanga atu o te kaupapa.
‘Tino pirangi nei matau ki te whakawatea tetehi wāhi e tāea ai e te rangatahi me ngā tamariki hoki te noho puku ki te āta wetewete i ngā take nui e hāngai nei ki te taiao me te wai. Ka rua, he hiahia nō mātau ki te tuku i te mana ki a rātau e ea ai ēnei taumahatanga’. Nā William Anaru tēnei korero iti. He poumahi ia mā Te Arawa Lakes, ko ia te pou whakahaere, te manu ao.
Ki a ia hoki te wāhanga e ki a nei ko te mahi mā te taiao. ' Ko te tino kaupapa o tā mātau wānanga he whakawhenu i ngā aho mātauranga e rua. Te Ao Hou me te Ao Taketake. E toru rā te roanga atu o te wānanga, kai te pae hou ngā ngākau katoa o ngā pou mahi e warea ana ki te whakaaranga o te kaupapa anō'.
Ko Tūkohu Ngāwhā te korowai e tiaki ana i ngā kaupapa o te taiao. Pēnei me te mana o te wai, te Mātauranga Māori, te oranga tonutanga o te taiao, te whakahaumaru taiao, me te whakapeautanga. He kaupapa hourua i whakaterengia e Te Arawa Lakes Trust me Te Kaunihera-ā-rohe o Toitehuatahi nō te tau tawhito.
E ai ki rongo korero ko te wāhanga Mātauranga Māori a Pūtaiao he tuatahitanga kīhai i kitea i wāhi kē atu. Ko te mana ōna, e mātau pū nei ki ngā take taiao e ai ki te titiro a tātau te Māori. Ko te whakaaro matua o tēnei kaupapa, ' ki te kawe i tēnei waka whakaaro ki rohe kē atu me te whakapakari i ngā wānanga kawe mātauranga Māori, kia noho mātāmua tēnei puna hai whakarauora i te taiao e āuē nei’. Hai tā Wiremu Anaru.
Hours were spent producing exhibits for the fair.
Kāore e huna te korero. Nō te whakaputanga mai o Kāhu ki Rotorua i ngā marama kotahi tekau mā waru ko pahemo, tūturu kua hōkia taku tinana ki te whakapono ōku ki tō tātau ao kia toitū ai te ao. Kua tūponongia i ahau te tokomaha o ngā toa pakeke tiaki taiao, kua tae hoki ahau ki ngā wānanga rau.
Taku whakamīharo hoki. Engari kai te rangatahi kē te wehi nui, e whakahīhī katoa ahau i te kaha o te wairua me te pono o te puku ki te manaaki me te whakarauora i a Papatūānuku. Pāhū ana taku roro. Nō te wiki ake ka noho ahau ki te mātakitaki ā Pukamata nei i aku mokopuna tokorua. Ko Matariki Maxwell-Mihinui me Lahaina Kiel
He hua ēnei tokorua nō te kaupapa YIP – Youth Involvment Project he kaupapa mana nui mā te Kaunihera-ā-rohe o Toitehuatahi. Nō te Pipiri o te tau ko pahemo, ka nanaongia tā rātau kaupapa Youth Engagement 2022 kia tata mai . Ko te whakaaro tuatahi e mea nei ko te pakeketanga me kotahi tekau mā ono te rahi tae ki te rua tekau mā rima, ka rua e whakaae ana ēnei rangatira ki te tuku o rātau whakaaro ki te rautaki e waihangatia ana e Toi Moana, ara te Kaunihera ake. Ko te rautaki kia noho ngātahi te rangatahi me Toi Moana e pupū ake ai te mana o te taiao mō ngā uri whakaheke.
Koia ko ēnei ngā pou huriropa o taua whare. Ko te kaitiakitanga, ko te whanaungatanga, ko te kotahitanga me te manaakitanga. Ka roa ēnei taitamāhine e āta wherawhera ana i ngā wāhanga o te pepa ka kitea e rāua tokorua, ehara noa iho i te pepa mātauranga engari he kaupapa e noho ngātahi ai te tangata me te taiao.
Nō te pā taunaha o Te Whakarewarewa a Matariki, a Lahaina kai tahaki o ngā ngāwhā me ngā waiparu o Te Puia me Te Kuirau e noho ana. Kai te kaha hoki rāua tokorua ki te whakawhanake i te puna mātauranga o te taiao me tō rāua ao taketake. Nā tēnei kaupapa whakahirahira kua paru anō ō rāua matimati ki te onekura o te hau kāinga me te tūhura hoki i ngā tini kura huna. —Na Raimona Inia i whakamaori
English Translation
The first Mātauranga Science and Design Fair in Rotorua proved so popular last year it is on the agenda again with a brand new section, an art competition.
Registrations from Year 5 up to Year 13 students are open now for Te Tūkohu Ngāwhā 2023 which will run for three days in July.
“We wanted to provide a space for tamariki and rangatahi to think about the different issues that impact their taiao and wai, and provide solutions to these issues through a te ao Māori lens,” said Te Arawa Lakes Trust Operations Manager – Biosecurity and Jobs for Nature, William Anaru. “It was to encourage blending the knowledges of both mātauranga and western science. It was a fantastic three-day event and we can’t wait to do it all again.”
Te Tūkohu Ngāwhā 2023 covers the categories of biosecurity, biodiversity, water quality, mātauranga Māori, sustainability and introduces an art competition.
A joint kaupapa between Te Arawa Lakes Trust and Bay of Plenty Regional Council last year, the mātauranga Māori science fair is believed to be the first of its kind, specifically targeting environmental issues through a te ao Māori lens.
The vision for introducing Te Tūkohu Ngāwhā Science and Design Fair was “to bring it to other rohe and encourage more kōrero about how we can use our knowledge as Māori to improve te taiao around us,” William said at the time.
I have to confess that since Kahu Ki Rotorua came into being 18 months ago, I have become a convert to Toitū te ao (A vibrant world).
I have been introduced to adult eco warriors and even attended information wananga. It has been eye-opening.
But it has been the rangatahi and their passion to connect to Papatuanuku and their whakapapa that have been the real mind blowers.
This week I watched posts by two of our mokopuna, Matariki Maxwell-Mihinui and Lahaina Kiel, on Facebook. They were part of the Youth Involvement Project (YIP) for the Bay of Plenty Regional Council whose Youth Engagement Programme 2022 was adopted last June.
Tino miharo nga mahi o nga rangatahi ki te Tūkohu Ngāwhā 2022.
The draft Youth Engagement Plan outlined how rangatahi (16 to 25-years-old) can be involved in decision making and action with Toi Moana (the council).
Its vision was that through unity of rangatahi and Toi Moana, the guardianship of our environment and the people will thrive and live on for generations to come.
The pou of the programme were: Kaitiakitanga, Whanaungatanga, Kotahitanga, and Manaakitanga.
Having had time to chew over their work the girls realise the draft was not just an academic exercise but a template for how to live in harmony with the taiao. Both have close ties with ngawha where their whanau have lived for generations. Matariki lives at Whakarewarewa and Lahaina has close ties with Te Puia and Kuirau. They have continued to expand their knowledge of the taiao and more particularly matauranga Maori and our oral histories. How we connect to each other and our environment has introduced them to a whole new world
