Kaiwhakatere updates

Ngāti Pāoa ki Waiheke roopū kōrerorero

Over the past few months, we have been fortunate to have many of our Pāoa whānau on the motu to engage their babies into our youth snorkel programme. For 2 days over the summer months they have learnt to snorkel vast distances, duck dive and to gather kina to take back to the shore for their eagerly awaiting parents. Our Kelp Garden pipi have seen many of our whānau observe what once a kina barren, had now become a thriving ecosystem.

Waiheke Marine Project intern Emily Griffith (Ngāti Pāoa, Ngā Puhi, Ngāti Whātua, Waikato/Tainui, Kuki Airani) attended an Indigenous Kelp Alliance workshop in Santa Barbara California presenting initiatives that we within Waiheke Marine Project are actioning to regenerate seaweed. Our Kelp Gardeners co-ordinators also presented to a roopū of rangatahi/youth from around Aotearoa at a Blake Inspire Programme held at Te Māhurehure Marae. This was an opportunity to engage with our youth to hopefully inspire the next generation to understand the importance of our moana.

Our 5th Annual Koura Dive Survey from the end of May to mid June has now been completed, the final dive day took place on the 21st June. What a season this was!!! We had dedicated skippers every weekend, divers (including Ngāti Pāoa regen divers) always on the go with support from our dive support crew from Epic Scuba. None of this could have gone ahead without the amazing commitment and dedication from our 2 Koura Dive Survey co-ordinators Britney Jeffs and Isabella Penrose (Ngāti Pāoa, Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki, Ngāti Maru). 

As always, we are focusing on growing Pāoa capacity on the island to reconnect and enable our ongoing kaitiakitanga responsibilities within the moana.

If you’re interested in this space, please get in touch at kaiwhakatere@waihekemarineproject.org

Leigh Takirau (NgāPuhi, Ngāti Whātua, Ngāti Pāoa, Waikato/Tainui)
Kaiwhakatere ~ Co-Navigator