Hokianga Harbour sedimentationTātaihia te Parataiao o Te Wahapū

This project aimed to

• identify possible causes for the deterioration in the mauri of Hokianga-Nui-a-Kupe
• enable the partners to develop management approaches informed by both science and Te Rarawa mātauranga

The Project

Drilling back 1,000 years

Research began in March 2020 with a hui at Ngai Tūpoto Marae, Motukaraka.  Local identities, with extensive knowledge of the history of changes in and around the Hokianga area in the past century, shared their mātauranga with the project team.  These insights underpinned the subsequent sample collection mahi, which used a hand-held percussion coring system to extract more than 15 sedimentary cores, each up to 1.8 m long. They were collected from seven separate sites along a c. 15 km-length of the lower and middle reaches of Hokianga-Nui-a-Kupe, between Rangi Point and the Waima River mouth near Rawene.

Cores were taken from Rangi Point (Waitapu), Punehu, Te Karaka (Whakarapa River mouth), Te Tapuwae River mouth, Ngai Tūpoto Marae, Motukaraka (Wairupe Creek), and the Waima River mouth.

Working with Te Rarawa

This project was a partnership designed to enhance connections between Te Rarawa iwi and GNS Science through the sedimentation study.

It used scientific methods to help understand the causes of environmental changes in the mauri, enabling Te Rarawa to develop management approaches informed by both science and their mātauranga.

In March 2021, seven Te Rarawa participants travelled to GNS Science to participate in hands-on sampling and analysis of material from the cores. This contributed significantly to the two-way sharing of knowledge and skills that underpinned and guided this project.

The project team and other partners delivered marae-based environmental education kaupapa to the next generation of kaitiaki across Te Hiku.  These included Geo Noho and Noho Taiao.  In these multi-day projects, amongst other hands-on activities, school children went into the field to collect and analyse their own sediment cores.