Previous page: Tawanui Station Manager, Steve Tapa. Above: The native bush and wetlands protected under the Nga Whenua Rāhui programme.
aimed at protecting whenua and native life from pests and farming stock. “It has been a long road but we completed all our mahi last year and when I saw the rātā bloom, and had heard that the kiwi population was slowly but surely increasing, it told me we’re getting it right.” says Steve proudly. That mahi has included setting aside 406 ha of land at the station, including native bush, into a reserve for 25 years, installing 40 kms of fencing to keep stock away from the Mangawhero River and developing 15 ha of wetlands to filter paru between the stock and the awa. “I hear the tūī singing more often in the bush these days and the edges of the river banks are beginning to rejuvenate because stock can no longer get to them,” says Steve. “But it was the flowering of the rātā tree that really got me extra excited because the floor of that bush has 18
TOITŪ TE WHENUA
taken a hammering over the years from pests and stock.” Steve hails from Ruakā Marae in Rānana which is up Whanganui River. “I’m a native river rat from Te Āti Haunui-a-Pāpārangi. My people are a water people so when it comes to any river, I care very much for those things. “Ngā Whenua Rāhui is about more than just fencing and getting rid of pests. It’s also about applying that aroha and spiritual connection we as Māori have with the earth.” Farming productivity and performance has also improved significantly since the programme started at the station. “Back in the old days, we had about 40 paddocks. Today we have 200 paddocks and that’s a sign to me that if we look after the whenua and the awa, it will look after us.”
Steve said the Department of Conversation and Horizons Regional Council had to be acknowledged for their support. “If they didn’t give us funding, it would have taken us longer to get the mahi done and time is crucial when it comes to environmental protection. “To give people an idea of the costs, on fences alone we spent $18,000 to construct one kilometre. Now multiply that by 40 kilometers of fencing.” While the bulk of the programme has come to an end, Steve says the challenge now lies in maintaining and enhancing the positive results. “We can’t be too complacent. Looking after the land has to be ongoing. I want to see that awesome pūkana from the rātā trees again.”