Mātau Taiao

Featured image: Set on finding a solution for Kauri dieback

Set on finding a solution for Kauri dieback

Rosemary Rangitauira • Aug 11, 2021

Dr Amanda Black of Tūhoe, Whakatōhea and Te Whānau-a-Āpanui is a researcher of environmental soil chemistry, biochemistry, and soil ecosystem health and has set her sights on finding a solution to tackle Kauri dieback. The disease starves the native tree of nutrients and water and is caused by a microscopic fungus-like organism called Phytophthora agathidicida. The organism lives in the … Read More

Featured image: Pursuit of ‘positive social change’

Pursuit of ‘positive social change’

Rosemary Rangitauira • Aug 11, 2021

Dr Maria Bargh, who has a PhD in Political Science and International Relations, is driven to use her research disciplines to create positive social change in Aotearoa. Her research focusses on three key areas: Māori politics te taiao – the environment; and the Māori economy Maria is based in Wellington and is an associate professor in Te Kawa a Māui … Read More

Featured image: A path forged by wisdom

A path forged by wisdom

Rosemary Rangitauira • Jul 05, 2021

Dr Poia Rewi credits his kaumātua (elders) for much of his journey as a kaihāpai o te reo Māori (Māori language supporter) and also acknowledges the pivotal role non-Māori mentors have played in his life. “Being raised in Murupara (Bay of Plenty) I was mentored by my koroua (grandfathers), kuia (grandmothers), and pākeke (adults) who guided my affinity for Māori … Read More

Featured image: ‘Little nuances can change a community’

‘Little nuances can change a community’

Rosemary Rangitauira • Jul 05, 2021

Supporting Auckland communities to ‘re-indigenise’ their spaces, to enhance opportunities for better health outcomes for their hapori (communities), is Dr Kimiora Raerino’s mission. Kimiora, of Ngāti Awa and Ngāti Rangiwewehi, specialises in research on the physical environment, health and Māori wellbeing, and has lived in Auckland for about 30 years. She works as a research officer in the Whāriki … Read More

Featured image: Weaving mātauranga Māori and science can empower Aotearoa

Weaving mātauranga Māori and science can empower Aotearoa

Rosemary Rangitauira • Jul 05, 2021

Whatungarongaro te tangata, toitū te whenua – As man disappears, the land remains. This proverb embodies Dr Daniel Hikuroa’s ambition to look after the land while he’s here and highlights his passion to weave mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge) with science. Dan affiliates to Ngāti Maniapoto, Waikato-Tainui and Ngāti Whanaunga.   He specialises in many disciplines including Earth systems science, natural hazards … Read More

Featured image: Restoring the forest’s song

Restoring the forest’s song

Rosemary Rangitauira • May 24, 2021

A primary goal for Thomas (Tame) Malcolm is to reinstate the mauri (life force) of the country’s forests by getting rid of pests, introduced to Aotearoa, that are destroying native flora and fauna. He hails from Ngāti Tarāwhai, Ngāti Pikiao, Tapuika, Ngāti Ngāraranui, Ngāti Whakaue and Ngāti Ruanui. In te reo Māori, he tells us that each forest has a unique … Read More

Featured image: One with the environment

One with the environment

Rosemary Rangitauira • May 24, 2021

Mihi mai ki a Dr Jane Kitson, an ecologist and environmental scientist, who as a youngster dreamed of becoming Indiana Jane. She hails from Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Mamoe and Waitaha. “My immediate family’s lives revolve around the seasonal calendar of gathering kai. Like kaimoana (seafood), tītī (muttonbirds), trout, salmon, duck or deer hunting,” she says. Her upbringing and curiosity about the … Read More

Featured image: Following the ‘Yellow Brick Road’

Following the ‘Yellow Brick Road’

Rosemary Rangitauira • Apr 13, 2021

The melody from the classic movie Wizard of Oz echoes as Jacinta Ruru explains what inspired her to attend university, and her ambition to help create a more just society in Aotearoa. Jacinta, who affiliates to Raukawa and Ngāti Ranginui, specialises in the research areas of indigenous peoples and the law. She is a professor at the University of Otago’s Faculty … Read More

Featured image: Driven to serve

Driven to serve

Rosemary Rangitauira • Apr 13, 2021

Driven, accountable, unafraid to test limits and connected to the communities she serves are traits that come to mind when thinking about Dr Anne-Marie Jackson. (Ngāti Whātua, Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Kahu o Whangaroa, Ngāti Wai) She specialises in Māori physical education and health research disciplines while incorporating tikanga Māori and Te Tiriti o Waitangi into her research work and the tertiary … Read More

Featured image: ‘Knowledge is power’

‘Knowledge is power’

Rosemary Rangitauira • Mar 05, 2021

Mā te mōhiotanga, ka mārama – mā te māramatanga, ka ora. (Through awareness comes understanding, and enlightenment empowers well-being) Dr Tahu Kukutai embodies this whakataukī (proverb), a wahine (woman) who is driven by a purpose to unveil the stories behind population statistics. Tahu specialises in Māori population research, Indigenous data sovereignty, Ethic and racial classification. She currently works at … Read More