After years of protecting and reinvigorating the vast and variable whenua of their beloved Te Aupōuri, Oranga Whenua Oranga Tangata Taiao’s hard mahi has paid off, winning two top awards at this year’s Northland Regional Council Whakamānawa ā Taiao – Environmental Awards.
Te Rūnanga Nui O Te Aupōuri’s kaitiaki arm, Oranga Whenua Oranga Tangata Taiao, were the big winners of Thursday night’s biennial awards ceremony held at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, taking out not only the Kaitiakitanga award, but the overall Te Tohu Matua- Supreme Award (subs: Thursday, June 26).
Over the past several years, the team of 12 has installed 16,250 meters of fencing, restored 0.625 hectares of wetland, planted more than 120,000 native plants and captured 2288 invasive species.
During that time, they also developed essential work skills and achieved significant conservation outcomes, like bringing back the critically endangered Ultriculis australis and declining long-fin tuna.
Their ‘holistic approach to protecting te taiao’, award judges said, had resulted in significantly improving the wellbeing of their whenua.
The judges were also impressed at how their kaupapa had strengthened connections between their iwi and their whenua, had fostered environmental awareness amongst local kura and engaged the community in sustainable land management practices.
Oranga Whenua Oranga Tangata Taiao lead Niki Conrad says the group is happy and humbled by the accolades.
“A lot of people are doing some really good work out there and it’s great to be recognised, especially when we are from way up north and a lot of our work is behind the scenes.”
“We’re sticking true to our kaupapa and all our kaimahi are invested in it.”
The awards – held for the sixth time – recognise individuals, groups and organisations making a difference for Northland’s environment.
According to the judges, competition was fierce across all award categories this year thanks to the high calibre of applications.
Council Deputy Chair Tui Shortland says she is excited to see the number of incredible projects protecting te taiao across Northland and that the awards are NRC’s way of recognising and celebrating that kaitiakitanga in action.
Councillor Shortland also congratulated the Oranga Whenua Oranga Tangata Taiao team and says she commended them for the important improvement to the wellbeing of their lands, which were of cultural, social, and environmental significance.
“Oranga Whenua Oranga Tangata have created employment opportunities for 12 local Te Aupouri iwi members, developing essential skills and achieving notable conservation outcomes,” Shortland says.
“The project has also involved whānau, hapū, and iwi and enhanced self-confidence, pride, and well-being through activities that deepen understanding of whakapapa, tūpuna heritage, and historical sites.
“They have also collaborated with Te Kura o Te Kao to carve and erect pou at significant sites, which further underscores their commitment to cultural preservation and environmental stewardship.”
Other winners:
Piroa Conservation Trust; Environmental action in water quality improvement.
The Piroa Conservation Trust is a coalition of over 30 community-led conservation groups dedicated to restoring biodiversity in Bream Bay and surrounding areas.
The group demonstrated lots of measurable outcomes, high levels of community involvement and an impressive scope of initiatives.
These included riparian planting (with 10,000 plants already in the ground), water quality testing, wetland restoration and fencing were key to the success of the Wai Tuwhera project, with water quality data being consistently measured.
The trust has strong relationships with iwi, hapū and community groups, working with Patuharakeke and in partnership with Whitebait Connection and NZ Landcare Trust, and has been thoughtful in seeking ways to engage directly with farmers.
A strong focus on educational outreach, including workshops and school programmes, has raised awareness and educated the community about the importance of water quality.
The trust has also been active on social media, ensuring their activities gain recognition across Te Taitokerau and thought of innovations to develop their reach, for example distributing “riparian gift packs”.
Trustee and group founder Ann Neill says winning the award is an amazing privilege.
Highly commended in the water quality category was Tiaki Nga Wai O Hokianga.
Weed Action Native Habitat Restoration Trust; Environmental action in the community.
The trust’s application demonstrates the depth of its engagement and success in drawing in the community to its mahi. Its range covers a very wide geographic area and it is tackling a huge weed control problem – this is a massive commitment and requires an enormous amount of work.
The trust has made great connections across the community and has a very good relationship with iwi/hapū, including with Aki Tai Here. They have a good set of well-recorded measurable outcomes.
Trust ecological advisor Mike Urlich says the recognition had left him “a bit emotional and just really stoked”. “It’s an acknowledgement of all the hard work that goes on.”
Highly commended in the environmental action in the community category were Tiaki Nga Wai O Hokianga, Bream Head Conservation Trust Reserve Revegetation and Ngā Kaitiaki o te Ahi.
Project Island Song; Environmental action to protect native life.
This project has had an undoubted impact over time, having achieved 15 years of pest-free status and 40,000 trees planted. Long-term commitment is evident and the group’s mahi has made a huge difference to Pewhairangi Bay of Islands.
The group works with school groups, individuals, families and businesses and in partnership with hapū and the governing committee. The school involvement was especially inspirational, particularly with the small, isolated schools.
The group is working on pest control, returning lost species and clearly making good progress on tackling weeds too.
Project Island Song chair William Fuller says the group enjoys good community support and puts the group’s success down to the hard work of hundreds of volunteers over many years. “Everyone has a passion for restoring the bird song.”
Highly commended in the environmental action to protect native life category were Piroa Conservation Trust, Weed Action Native Habitat Restoration Trust and Jill Mortensen.
Bay of Islands International Academy; Environmental action in education.
This entry demonstrated an outstanding holistic approach, involving all levels and curriculum areas across the school and throughout their local community and hapū. The academy has successfully woven te ao Māori and sustainability throughout its mahi.
It was impressive to note the impact on students, who have been empowered to take ownership of environmental change. The academy has also ensured a multi-generational approach by enabling older students to teach younger students and enabling kaumatua as expert helpers. Its trapping programme is extensive.
Spokesperson Lucy Miller says winning the award was a surprise but felt it was well-deserved.
“All the kids have been taught to be kaitiaki of their land, the ocean that’s near them and to look after Purerua Peninsula.”
Highly commended in the environmental action in education category were Whangārei Girls' High School, Hurupaki School and Te Kura O Hato Hohepa Te Kamura.
Mountains to Sea Conservation Trust; environmental leadership.
Mountains to Sea has a broad focus on freshwater and marine ecosystems and the connection between them. Its application stood out for its very strong community partnerships, commitment to education and the cross-community development it fosters throughout its mahi.
The freshwater habitat restoration undertaken through its īnanga spawning program has had a huge impact – on protecting biodiversity across Te Taitokerau and enabling a widespread and consistent community engagement programme that upskills and inspires. The trust has active partnerships with iwi, hapū and schools and facilitate high levels of community volunteering.
Spokesperson Kim Jones says people are doing some amazing work around Te Taitokerau and for the trust to be recognised with the award was awesome, amazing and humbling.
Highly commended in this category was The Love Bittern Project.
Earth Buddies; Youth Environmental Leader.
Earth Buddies is an inspiring youth-led education programme designed and delivered by 25 students from Whangārei Girls’ High School’s kaiarahi (prefect) team and Environmental Committee.
The students have formed a partnership with Whangārei Primary School to provide bi-weekly environmental lessons to more than 150 students in Years 3 and 4. The lessons cover topics such as composting, climate change, and pest management.
Through these engaging sessions, the secondary students are not only helping to develop critical thinking in the younger generation but are also strengthening their own environmental knowledge. This initiative goes beyond the classroom by encouraging families to adopt eco-friendly practices and inviting parents/caregivers to take part in activities.
In helping to educate the next generation, Earth Buddies is contributing to long-term conservation and climate mitigation efforts in Whangārei and is a programme that could be replicated in other communities.
Group leader Stella Moreton says the group is very honoured and excited to be recognised.
Highly commended in this category were Roman Makara – Taiao Club and India Clarke.
Te Rūnanga Nui o Te Aupōuri – Oranga Whenua Oranga Tangata Taiao Team; Kaitiakitanga.
Highly commended in this category were Patuharakeke Te Iwi Trust – Te Pou Taiao, Ngā Kaitiaki o te Ahi and Ngā Kaitiaki O Ngā Wai Māori.
Tū Mai Rā Energy Northland; environmental action in business.
Tū Mai Rā offers solar power solutions, aiming to harness the energy of the sun – Tū Mai Rā means to ‘Stand before the sun’.
This entry demonstrated commitment to the community – Tū Mai Rā is not subject to a regulatory requirement to provide electricity, it is doing it to benefit the community. This will have a positive impact on many people by improving climate resilience, and community resilience during natural hazards. A greater uptake of renewable energy will reduce greenhouse gases and resilience will be improved in remote areas.
Tū Mai Rā Energy is also providing employment and upskilling opportunities for locals, bringing more benefits to the community. Tū Mai Rā is an excellent application, which is portrayed by its achievement as the winners of the Tai Tokerau Māori Business Merit Award and receiving highly commended in the climate change category as well.
Company director Ella Te Huia says keeping true to yourselves and what you believe in is the right thing to do.
Patuharakeke Te Iwi Trust – Te Pou Taiao; environmental action to address climate change.
Te Pou Taiao o Patuharakake (TPT) is preparing and supporting its people to adapt to a changing climate by equipping them with the tools and strategies to do so.
TPT has harnessed technology to begin to address the climate crisis and has developed a climate change risk assessment tool to visually illustrate the risks to Patuharekeke rohe. The toolbox features sea level rise modelling and identifies coastal flood hazard zones and erosion prone land.
The toolbox will be used to inform the Patuharakeke Hapū Environmental Management Plan (which is currently in its draft phase), incorporating both mātauranga Māori and western science within mitigation, adaptation and resilience strategies.
The levels of community engagement are excellent and its passion shines through in the application. Its approach to developing climate resilience through holistic thinking is impressive.
Trust pou hautu Juliane Chetham says the trust has a fantastic team and sees a lot of young rangatahi taking a leadership role which is appropriate in the climate change arena.
Highly commended in this category was Tū Mai Rā Energy Northland.
Piroa Conservation Trust; winner Kiwi Coast Special Award.
Piroa Conservation Trust is a collaborative, forward thinking group which incorporates hapū, schools, community, DOC, businesses and a team of volunteers.
A strong governance has helped guide direction to become a broad conservation group at the southern area of Northland. The vision for expansion of pest control and kiwi habitat will help the long-term survival of kiwi in Te Tai Tokerau, Northland.
Project Island Song was highly commended in this category.
