Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington’s award-winning teaching and research facility Te Toka Tū Moana—Coastal Ecology Laboratory in Island Bay is hosting its annual open day on Saturday 7 March from 10 am–3 pm.

Part of Seaweek, Aotearoa New Zealand’s annual celebration of the sea, the annual open day provides a rare chance to explore the lab, as it is only open to the public once a year.  

Whether you’re looking for a fun family outing or are interested in marine biology as a potential field of study, this educational open day offers engaging activities for all.

Visitors will have the opportunity to discover aspects of Aotearoa’s marine world, with displays showcasing marine biology research conducted at Victoria University, live local marine organisms to look at close-up, and a virtual reality diving experience. Staff, researchers and students will be on hand to answer questions and run a free sausage sizzle.  

The laboratory, which supports coastal ecology research within the University’s School of Biological Sciences, is known for its award-winning facilities and world-class research.  

Laboratory director Dr Alice Rogers says, “Everyone at the Coastal Ecology Laboratory is excited about opening the doors on Saturday 7 March to reveal the nature of our work here. There is a lot for people of any age to discover, and it’s a great opportunity for our PhD students to showcase some of the innovative research projects that are made possible by the lab’s flow-through seawater system.  

“This equipment allows our team to ask important questions—for example, about ocean warming or extreme temperature events, and their impacts on marine organisms.”

New research vessel Kauneke, which has been custom-built for the School of Biological Sciences’ unique teaching and research requirements in coastal ecology in the Taputeranga Marine Reserve, will also be on display.

There is plenty of free street parking close by or take the No. 29 bus to stop 7156. The laboratory has wheelchair access and a mobility carpark.

Learn more about the Victoria University Coastal Ecology Laboratory. 
 

When: 10 am–3 pm, Saturday 7 March 2026 

Where: Coastal Ecology Laboratory, 396 The Esplanade, Island Bay, Wellington 

Hundreds of Pacific community members came together in Auckland last month for a free health screening event, delivered by ProCare and The Fono, supported by 14 health and social service providers.

The event brought proactive and preventative health services to the community and helped people spot and understand health issues early. The work is part of ProCare’s long‑running partnership with the 14 Healthy Village Action Zone (HVAZ) churches working together with aiga to boost long-term health and wellbeing, including the event host, St Therese Three Kings.

Families took part in health checks and screenings, including dental and blood pressure check-ups, blood sugar testing, and health education. Some people found out they may have undiagnosed conditions and now know what they need to talk to their GP about.

Dr Allan Moffitt, Clinical Director at ProCare and GP at The Fono, says taking services proactively into the community is key to improving access.

“Nearly 500 checks, tests and immunisations were delivered in a single day — that’s the power of meeting people where they are. When we take services into the heart of the community, we remove barriers, we build trust, and we make it easier for families to take that first step toward better health.”

Housing is failing to meet Māori and Pacific families’ needs in New Zealand, say University of Auckland experts Professor Deidre Brown and Dr Karamia Müller.

Housing prices have skyrocketed, leaving many Māori and Pacific people unable to afford their own homes, say Brown and Müller, who are directors of the University’s Māori and Pacific Housing Research Centre – MĀPIHI.

In 2023, only 16.8 percent of Pacific people and 27.5 percent of Māori owned their own home, compared with a national home ownership rate of 66 percent.

Cities have become increasingly gentrified, pushing Pacific people to the edges or outside cities, says Müller.

“Housing pressures are particularly intense in regions such as Bay of Plenty, Rotorua, Auckland, Northland, Oamaru and other parts of the South Island.

“Some regions have additional pressures from homelessness, some need more social housing, and some need more innovative options for home ownership,” Müller says.

Most houses in New Zealand have been designed with small, nuclear families in mind, say Brown (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Kahu) and Müller (Sāmoa).

Many Māori and Pacific families are larger and several generations often want to live together.

“Housing isn’t meeting the needs of Māori and Pacific people across the nation, sadly,” says Müller.

“Māori and Pacific people tend to live intergenerationally. They tend to find cultural resilience by living together – it’s mana enhancing.

“But the majority of the housing stock isn’t designed to enable and empower intergenerational living.”

Brown says one larger house is often needed to accommodate Māori whanau, and this can be more affordable than two or three smaller houses.

“Māori whanau thrive when they live as extended whanau.

“Much more flexible houses are required. The houses we have don’t accommodate larger families – they don’t have options like two kitchens, they don’t allow for people to come and stay for longer periods,” says Brown.

Pacific people have different values about the way buildings connect with the environment, Müller says.

“The issue isn’t just about the design of the houses, it’s about how housing is placed, what it connects us to in the environment and whether that’s a source of wellbeing or impacts our wellbeing negatively.”

Māori and Pacific design elements scarcely featured in New Zealand architecture until about 15 years ago, say Brown and Müller.

“Up until recently, more buildings than not have been what you would think of as Pakeha buildings.

“More recently, we’re seeing an emergent movement around Māori and Pacific design and architecture,” says Müller.

The discipline of Māori architecture barely existed when Brown began her postgraduate studies, so her mission has been to create one.

“I see Karamia and I and some others around Aotearoa as creating a contemporary architecture movement.

“We’re looking for transformational change in the built environment to meet the needs of Māori and Pacific people and New Zealanders generally,” Brown says.

The University’s School of Architecture and Planning focuses on training architectural students in placed-based design, says Brown.

“We encourage our graduates to draw on the environment – whether that’s the people or the whenua – to inform their design.”

In the past, public buildings, such as airports and hotels, often featured “tokenistic gestures” to Māori culture, says Brown.

“Now, we’re seeing architects and architectural designers incorporating Māori and Pacific concepts and the involvement of communities in co-design.

“These innovations make sure what communities want and need is reflected in the architecture,” says Brown.

Māori and Pacific design elements in buildings help reflect a sense that Aotearoa is a unique country, located in the Pacific, they say.

“Some people might say ‘why Māori and Pacific when we live in New Zealand?’, but these design elements actually speak to a wider New Zealand identity.

“Māori design elements in our architecture are unique to this whenua.

“They have been developed over almost a millennium by Māori people to reflect our relationships to nature and the way we live in this land,” says Brown.

Müller says most building materials these days come from overseas.

“With the increased globalisation of building materials, it is even more important to have Māori and Pacific design elements in the built realm, because the built realm is a mirror of who we are.

“It affirms and builds our sense of identity,” says Müller.