DECEMBER2022 FEBRUARY 2021
WESTFRANKLINBREEZE.NZ Weed maintenance at the Awhitu Peninsula Landcare nursery.
Mayoral Conservation Awards for collaboration and innovation STORY JUELLE HUNT
Two Franklin groups have won Mayoral Conservation Awards. Āwhitu Peninsula Landcare the Collaboration Award in recognition of the Te Korowai o Papatūānuku Project, working in partnership with Ngāti Te Ata and Auckland Council and C.R.E.S.T a shorebird protection group covering Clarks, Rangiriri and Ellets beaches, Seagrove and Taihiki Estuary Southern Manukau Harbour won the Innovation Award.
Success for Āwhitu Peninsula Landcare The aims of the project is to eco-source, propagate and plant 250,000 native trees on the Peninsula over a four year period. The focus areas are those of high conservation and cultural value, with an emphasis on wetlands and waterways creating effective wildlife corridors across the Peninsula. Local employment, horticultural training and public education are all key aspects of this funding. The Te Korowai o Papatūānuku project is funded by the Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) as part of the One Billion Trees Project. Āwhitu Landcare is almost three decades old. It has a Matakawau based nursery and office along wand operate an extensive pest control operation through RD3 and RD4. This current achievement is really a culmination of the hard work of many people over a number of years before this MPI funding was granted. Landcare convenor Alison Brown and nursery manager Sigrid Sharplin
were responsible for all the backgropund work for the application.
Partnership with Landcare and Ngati Te Ata Edith Tuhimata (kaitiaki) and spokesperson for Ngāti Te Ata has been co-ordinating this work for the last five years. “The inception came from the tribe’s old people 30 years ago expressing their wairua or what they wanted to achieve in the future I’m just carrying on their work. The most important thing is the kaitiakitanga, the protection and preservation of our cultural heritage sites, the sacred sites and being able to plant them out, to clothe Papatūānuku. This in turn increases the native fauna, flora and wildlife and contributes to the water quality, there is a whole gamut of things going on here, said Edith. Some of the hardest working people in this realm has been George Flavell, (kaumātua, tribal historian, archeologist and head of the environmental unit for Ngāti Te Ata) and Karl Flavell (environmental planner) have been doing work for the Ngati Te Awa for the last 27 years. “George has spent a lifetime working on our sacred sites. About 27 years ago we realised that we had all these sacred sites but we didn’t have the relationship component to have access onto those sights. Karl and George brokered relationships with all the land owners and farmers on the Āwhitu Peninisula in order gain access to those sacred sites. “From there we mapped all the sites and we got Auckland
Retirement Function for
Graeme Brown Waiuku Health Centre has announced the retirement of one of their longest serving doctors Dr Graeme Brown. Dr Brown, who has worked in Waiuku since 1995 was involved in setting up the current medical centre in Constable Road as one of the original partners. He stepped back just over a year ago and fully retired from at the end of January.
Council to put them on the cultural heritage inventory sites. We now have our own Geographical Information Systems Database. “When Āwhitu Landcare said there was new funding opportunities available into the One Billion Tree Programme I put the application through. We worked on everything together in order to be able to plant out all the waterways around our sacred sites and all the areas we deemed susceptible,” said Edith. “It’s a whole movement people like whaea Waatara Black who put in the fundamental foundation work to enable us to keep going. This award is good but it’s just a manifestation of us being able to continue our relationship with our ancestral lands and sacred sights and the ability to kaitiaki over a long period of time and what that relationship will enable us to do. We are very fortunate, there is not a lot of iwis out there that have an environmental unit to put all the information together and to actually format it the way we did. It is ongoing work and there is another 30 years of work ahead and we are looking forward to continuing on the journey. It is most important the way we have structured our engagement and our relationships which has made all the difference in setting boundaries and looking at what each party can bring to the table to enable us to have those mutual outcomes which has been the most beneficial of all. To stay connected visit www. facebook.com/Ngatiteata
The Medical Centre will be holding a community farewell gathering on Sunday 20 February at 2pm at the Medical Centre. Attendees need to be vaccinated and bookings for attendance preferred phone 09 235 9192. Numbers may be limited.
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