The Poroti Springs and issues about the resources protection and exploitation have attracted the attention of University of Auckland geography students.
A group of third year students has visited the site near Whangarei as part of their course, Research Design and Methods in Human Geography.
The Poroti Springs are valued as a taonga, or treasure, by local hapu and are of commercial interest to Zodiac Holdings. The Auckland-based company has extraction rights for water from the springs and has recently received consent to build a bottling plant across the road from the springs.
The students looked into the geology, land management and hapu concerns. Kasia Grant chose a different angle: the portrayal of the Poroti Springs case in the media. Ms Grant visited the Northern Advocate and also spoke to Radio New Zealand for her research.
