Te Taumutu Rūnanga

Taumutu Tamariki Day

In the recent school holidays, Taumutu had their first Tamariki day kanohi ki te kanohi since January 2022. It was a huge success with 24 tamariki and 14 adults attending at Ngāti Moki Marae. We were lucky enough to have Aunty Liz Brown organise a great day creating native birds out of pinecones that we collected from Awhitu House. We walked from the marae down to the grounds, and while we were there, we saw the tractors, had some great stories from Pōua Dick and a good look around. Tāua Rose and Tāua Annette were there to support us all on the day (tidying up the last bit for us at the end), and Aunty Fi made us a scrummy lunch. We walked through the wetlands and visited the urupā and had a magical day at the marae.

If you missed out on the last Tamariki Day but would like to come along to the next one in September, make sure to look out for the pānui on our Facebook page. We would love to connect with you and your whānau.

Weaving Wānanga

There was a great turnout for our kete piringa weaving wānanga on 29 April. We are very appreciative of the leadership and organisation of our tutors on the day (Aunty Daph, Whaea Tania, Bridget and Rachel Robilliard). We are also grateful for the thought and organisation behind the project from Julie Robilliard, Dr Issie Barrett, and Raewyn Solomon.

It is an exciting time when we can integrate traditional practice into environmental solutions for our mahinga kai. This project has had many hands involved from the start, and the next stage will be integrating the kete piringa into the Waikēkēwai in September.

Living Waters – Catchment Plan

Large-scale wetland trial to reduce contaminants and increase ecosystem resilience. Taumutu previously engaged with Living Waters on the Ararira catchment management plan and the subsequent implementation plan. The management and implementation Plans were created to improve water quality for Te Waihora and the Ararira/LII catchment. Taumutu was invited to attend the completion celebration alongside Selwyn District Council. We believe that the implementation plan provides a good example for future waterway management in our takiwā. The plan and the guide can be accessed on the livingwater.net website.

Living Water commissioned Aqualinc to find ways of reducing contaminants entering Waituna Lagoon as ongoing monitoring shows the lagoon and tributaries are under stress. The report found that individual landowners could achieve significant reductions, but the costs of reducing contaminants are high and could impact the viability of farming operations and the community. The best and most cost-effective results are likely to come from a combination of individual and collective approaches, with nature-based solutions being the focus.

A three-hectare constructed wetland trial is underway to understand the viability of large-scale wetland restoration/creation in lowland areas of New Zealand, providing updated Southland-specific data on wetland performance for contaminant reductions, and understanding the best plants for use and how they need to be maintained.

Climate Change Wānanga

Planning for climate change has ramped up at Taumutu with a recent speed wānanga to identify whānau priorities to guide the kaupapa forward. Armed with mātauranga collated by Lan Pham and Sonny Whitelaw at Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, Rachel Robilliard shared a summary of our current understanding of the impacts of climate change and examples of initiatives across the Ngāi Tahu takiwā. Whānau present at the hui (and online) then shared their whakaaro, using a model developed by Ngāi Tahu representatives and Environment Canterbury staff, Te Tūtei o Te Hau, as a guide. Key themes included:

• education for whānau members.

• protecting our kāinga and kāinga tūturu from coastal erosion.

• whānau and marae resilience and preparedness including kai, water, and electricity.

• waterways and mahinga kai.

• governance and identity.

• opportunities such as solar farming and blue carbon.

Next steps include undertaking research to inform the preparation of a climate change strategy and adaptation plan, and collating and creating educational resources for whānau members. Ko ngā hau ki ētahi wāhi. Ko ngā kai kei Orariki.

Congratulations

Heidi Mehlhopt graduated from Canterbury University with a Bachelor of Teaching and Learning (Primary).

Heidi is the mokopuna of Bomber Mehlhopt (Teihoka whānau) and Joy Mehlhopt. Heidi is looking forward to securing a role and working with our tamariki to help bring out the best in them.