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Kaitiakitanga - guardianship and conservation

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Kaitiakitanga - guardianship and conservation

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Kaitiakitanga means guardianship, protection, preservation or sheltering. It is a way of managing the environment, based on the traditional Māori world view.

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Rakaihautu - Naming the great lakes of the South Island.
Toitu Te Whenua | Land Information New Zealand

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The legend of Maui and his brother Aoraki

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The legend of Maui and his brother Aoraki

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The Creation of New Zealand, According to the Legend of Maui and his brother Aoraki

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Post with 1667 votes and 66258 views. Tagged with Storytime; Shared by SouthenScoundrel. The Creation of New Zealand, According to the Legend of Maui and his brother Aoraki

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Tales from the mythologies of Creation, Maui and Aoraki

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Search current and past copies of New Zealand Geographic.

( If asked for a password, ask your teacher or librarian)

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Common plants

Here is a list of plants commonly found in New Zealand.

Fern : New Zealand has about 200 species of fern. The silver fern being a national symbol.

Flax (harakeke): A valuable resource because of its strength. New Zealand's biggest export in early European times.

Kauri : One of the largest and longest living trees in the world. Māori often gave these trees chiefly status.

Koromiko : The most common use for this plant in New Zealand is for rongoā (traditional Māori medicine).

Kōwhai : Known for their brilliant yellow flowers. The nectar being an important food source for native birds.

Mānuka : Honey derived from the pollen of mānuka flowers contains powerful medicinal agents.

Pittosporum : Small bushy trees with attractive foliage. Grown widely in gardens.

Pōhutukawa : Known as New Zealand's Christmas tree because it produces bright red flowers around Christmas time.

Pūhā (rauriki): This plant was traditionally one of the most staple green vegetables for Māori and is still eaten today.

Facts and pictures

Native plants refers to all native vegetation which includes ferns, flaxes, and trees.
Te Ara: the Encyclopedia of New Zealand
This is a great website for anything on New Zealand. Information is arranged in sections.

Select Sections on the menu bar, then The Bush and lastly Native Plants & Fungi.

Choose a story to read about native plants including poisonous plants and mosses.

Or enter the specific name of a plant into the search box eg lancewood.

Tips: Te Ara links sometimes take you to the Short Story. Remember to select the Full Story if you want more in-depth information. You can also look at the All images and media link for pictures and photos related to your story.

DigitalNZ is a search site that focuses on New Zealand history and brings together results from lots of different websites. It's an easy way of searching online resources from New Zealand libraries, museums, universities and government sites all at once.

Enter the keywords native plants into the search box.

Use the menu to choose images, audio, videos and stories.

Tips: Search words, or keywords, are the most important words in our question. Usually it's better to leave out small words like 'the', 'a' and 'of' and just choose the main ones, e.g 'native plants'. We can always change our keywords or add more if we need to.

Conservation

These sites have information about looking after and protecting native plants so they will be around in the future.
Department of Conservation
The Department of Conservation (DOC) is the government website about preserving the natural and historical sites of New Zealand. This site is an excellent source of information on New Zealand's native plants (also known as native flora).

At the top of the page, hover over the heading Nature and some options will appear - select Native plants.

Here you will find information on individual plants and groups of plants.

There is also a search box at the top of the page where you can enter the name of a specific plant eg Kauri.

Tips: We like sites like this because they're reliable. You can tell because of their web address - they have either .govt or .ac, meaning they are from government or educational organisations. They're also New Zealand sites, so relevant for us.
New Zealand Plant Conservation Network
This is a website that includes plant groups, scientific names for each plant, their ecosystems and what threatens each species.

In the search box at the top of the page enter the name of the specific plant you are looking for eg kōwhai.

At the top of the home page select the Conservation link to find information on this.

Food (kai) and medicine (rongōa)

New Zealand was originally covered with dense native bush, and its ferns, vines, palms, fungi, berries, fruit and seeds became important foods for early Māori. They were also used for rongoā (traditional Māori medicine).
Te Ara: the Encylopedia of New Zealand
You can find some good information in Te Ara about food and medicine related to native plants.

Enter kai into the search box.

Choose Māori foods to find how native plants were used for food.

Enter 'medicine' into the search box.

Choose Rongoā - medicinal use of plants to find how native plants were used as medicine.

Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
Te Papa is a another great site for finding information on New Zealand which includes websites, blogs and exhibitions.

Enter 'Māori medicine' into the search box.

Choose the entry Māori medicine.

Here you will find information about the use of native plants in traditional Māori medicine.

Weaving

Early Māori used harakeke for weaving clothing, mats ( whāriki), rope, fishing nets ( kupenga), and many other things.
Christchurch City Libraries
The Christchurch City Libraries website has a comprehensive entry on harakeke which includes the Māori protocol for gathering the leaves.

At the top of the page, use the menus to search the Website by Keyword for 'harakeke'.

Select the page harakeke.

Check out the Related pages for Weaving for kids.

Ali Brown has put together this site, which includes instructions on how to weave putiputi (flax flower) and how to dye flax.

Select Gathering flax to find out where how to collect and store flax and Māori protocol.

Dyeing flax has information on how to change the colour.

Or choose one of the other links for weaving techniques and how to weave things eg Weaving a flax flower.

Tips: Websites that have .com or .co in the address can have good information, but you need to assess how reliable it is. Check the 'about us' link on the website, if you can find one. That can tell you what the company's mission and values are.
Te Ara: the Encyclopedia of New Zealand
Te Ara also has great information on traditional Māori weaving.

Find the section called Creative and Intellectual Life.

Go to Visual arts.

Select the story Te raranga me te whatu.

Read the different pages to find out about the weaving process, different weaving patters, and items that were made like kākahu (cloaks).

Suggested books

Look for these titles and others on New Zealand forests in your school library or public library:
SCIS no: 1832858

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Here is a list of plants commonly found in New Zealand. Fern : New Zealand has about 200 species of fern. The silver fern being a national symbol. Flax (harakeke): A valuable resource because of its strength. New Zealand's biggest export in early European times.

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Rongoā is the traditional Māori healing system. Rongoā is a holistic practice that often includes using the medicinal properties of New Zealand native plants.

Early Māori and rongoā

Although early Māori may not have known what today's scientists know about our immune system, they had worked out how to treat diseases and infection. The use of rongoā prevented many sicknesses and provided remedies for those who were already sick. Joseph Banks, an 18th century scientist who travelled with Captain James Cook, observed that Māori were in good health and appeared to suffer from few diseases.

Traditionally, Māori had a holistic approach to healing. It included the mind, body and spirit - mauri (spark or life force), tapu (natural law) and wairua (spirit). Whakapapa (genealogy) was also a factor to consider in the healing process. Tohunga, the medical practitioners or healers of the Māori world, passed their knowledge down through the generations, and modern Māori healers still use many of the concepts and practices.

Rongoā fighting infection

Rongoā is still used extensively today - many of the medicines from plants are used to fight infection. It was, and still is, important that the gathering of rongoā plants be carried out in a sustainable way to ensure that there will still be some the next time it is needed. Some of these plants can be toxic and should only be prepared by people who have been trained in the art of rongoā.

The following plants are some examples of plants that can be used for rongoā and that are used to fight infection.

Koromiko
The young leaf tips can be chewed for diarrhoea and dysentery. Dried leaves sent to New Zealand soldiers in the Second World War for this purpose were very effective.

Koromiko leaves can also be used for ulcers and sores and have been used as a poultice on babies for skin sores. The active ingredient is phenolic glycocide.

Kōwhai
All the parts of the kōwhai including the bark, inner bark, flowers, leaves and juice can be used as rongoā. Kōwhai can be used for cuts, infected skin, wounds and skin diseases. Colds and sore throats have been treated with infused kōwhai bark. There are toxic alkaloids in the tree, so people have to prepare the rongoā carefully.

Harakeke (flax)
The sticky gum in flax is used as an external treatment for boils and wounds. Leaves can be used as a dressing to aid healing, and the juice acts as a disinfectant for wounds. A poultice of the root can be used to treat intestinal parasites.

In this article Stephen Tauwhare talks about The Harakeke Project and how scientific knowledge can be combined with traditional Māori knowledge. Watch this video to learn more about the medicinal benefits of harakeke.

Pōhutukawa
The inner bark, when infused, can be used to treat dysentery and diarrhoea (it contains ellagic acid), and the nectar of the flowers has helped to alleviate sore throats.

Pūriri
Pūriri leaves can be infused and used to treat ulcers and sore throats, best gargled and not swallowed

Kawakawa
The leaves can be used to heal cuts and wounds. Chewing the leaves eases the pain of toothache and abdominal distress.

High school student Chris Ryan researched the medicinal properties of kawakawa, read about it in this Connected journal article.

Fungi and rongoā

A number of fungi were used in rongoā, for example, pukurau (puffballs) were used to stop bleeding and for pain relief from scalds and burns. Learn more in the interactive below.

Nature of science

Activity ideas

Useful links

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Rongoā is the traditional Māori healing system. Rongoā is a holistic practice that often includes using the medicinal properties of New Zealand native plants.

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The tangata whenua of our forest is known as Rangitāne o Wairarapa, and they are one of many iwi across Aotearoa New Zealand. The forest is their domain and is often described as a 'living pantry', a place to find food and live off the land. Plants have always been extremely important, being used for both spiritual and medicinal reasons and Pūkaha is home to an extraordinary number of them. Here we introduce you to five native plants used in Māori medicine - how many can you find in the forest?

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We are very proud of our native plants! Here we share five of the most common plants you might spot at Pūkaha and their traditional uses in Māori medicine.

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Mahinga kai is about the value of natural resources that sustain life, including the life of people. It is important to manage and protect these resources, in the same way, that ancestors have done before us.

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Te Waipounamu and mahinga kai
Christchurch City Libraries

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Mahinga kai is a term often associated with waterways and intertwined with the celebration of Matariki, but what does it mean?

North Canterbury based Environment Canterbury (ECan) ranger and Tangata Tiaki/Kai Tiaki (guardian) said that for Ngāi Tahu, mahinga kai was both the place and the resources gathered there.

"Mahinga kai is a natural resource and it's working the natural resource. It can be anything from the stones that you'd use for fire making and tools, pounamu, the mud you use for dyes and rongo (medicine) and cooking in, as well as all your birds, fish.

"Anything that is a natural resource from the environment is mahinga kai," Rupene said.

Key North Canterbury sites included Lake Sumner, the Waipara river, mouth of the Hurunui, mouth of the Ashley/Rakahuri and the mouth of the Waimakariri.

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Traditionally Matariki was the time to gather from mahinga kai sites, stockpiling for winter.

"Back in the old times, the tōhunga (priest or expert in their field) would make the call on how the next year's harvest and season would be. With the end of Matariki, you would have done all your harvesting ... then your ground would be ready for the coming spring. You would also have done your gathering [of mutton bird and fish species]. It's a time of wealth, your stocks are high therefore it's a celebration time."

A contract signed in 1848 granted 20 million acres of Ngāi Tahu land to the Government while preserving access to mahinga kai sites for the Ngāi Tahu people.

As some of those sites became increasingly polluted or were lost through the drainage of wetlands, that contract became more important, Rupene said.

"Over the last few years, it's become harder to go out with my family and children to harvest mahinga kai. These are our stocks, our stores. For us, as tangata whenua, it's a show of our mana and our manaakitanga (hospitality and respect) to look after others when they visit and to look after our elders. We always give them mahinga kai and we haven't been able to do that over the last few years due to the increasing loss of habitat and pollution in waterways."

To protect the sites for the future, Rupene said councils, hāpū (sub tribes), communities and Government agencies were looking into ways of mitigating the environmental impact of issues such as nutrient runoffs and land development.

"We're also looking at putting in place mātaitai and rāhui, tools for customary fishing where we can say 'that species has been depleted', then we can put a rāhui on it for a certain amount of time or a mātaitai on a certain area. Manage that fishery, make it sustainable or keep commercial interests away from that area until mahinga kai populations go up."

As public knowledge of environmental issues increased, so too did the support of initiatives to protect assets such as mahinga kai, Rupene said.

"It's about making our mahinga kai sustainable so it's there for us and our grandchildren forever and ever.

"Always look to the environment, see what it can produce. If you're going to farm an area of land, farm it to its potential, don't go and build it into something. Look to its natural resources, farm them, make it sustainable."

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Mahinga kai is a term often associated with waterways and intertwined with the celebration of Matariki, but what does it mean? North Canterbury based Environment Canterbury (ECan) ranger and Tangata Tiaki/Kai Tiaki (guardian) said that for Ngāi Tahu, mahinga kai was both the place and the resources gathered there.

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Life revolved around mahinga kai: North Canterbury History

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New Zealand birds online

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Environment Canterbury education programmes.

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Our natural environment of Canterbury

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COVID-19: Environment Canterbury offices under the Red setting

Our Tuam Street office opening hours are 9am to 4pm and Timaru office opening hours are 10am to 3pm. All visitors will be required to provide a current, valid My Vaccine Pass, scan the QR code, sign in and out, and wear a mask. For an update on Metro services please visit the Metro website - metro.co.nz. More information on our services can be found on our COVID-19 key updates page.

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COVID-19: Environment Canterbury offices under the Red setting Our Tuam Street office opening hours are 9am to 4pm and Timaru office opening hours are 10am to 3pm. All visitors will be required to provide a current, valid My Vaccine Pass, scan the QR code, sign in and out, and wear a mask.

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It is from our Aoraki that the story of the Arowhenua people should begin. The relationship between our people and the land begins in the ancient times of Aoraki and the creation of the South Island.

The story of Aoraki and his brothers has been passed down through many generations of our people and has endured across both time and tribe to continue as a creation mythology of high importance to us.

Kia tuohu koe me he mauka teitei, ko Aoraki anake -
If you must bow your head, then let it be to a lofty mountain

Aoraki was the son of Rakinui, the sky father. Along with his brothers he left the heavens in a canoe to visit Papatūānuku. They explored the earth and the seas, sailing their powerful Waka through the dark empty Southern oceans. Shortly after, Aoraki and
his brothers became hungry and began fishing. They were unsuccessful and as a result decided to return to the heavens, to the domain of their father Rakinui. Aoraki started the incantation needed to launch their

massive waka into space, free of the earth's surface to take them back to the heavens, but his courage wavered momentarily as he was distracted by the fearful cries of his crew. At this crucial stage he faltered before completing the words to release them.

The waka had partially begun its separation into the void but only the bow had lifted with the main body of the waka and the stern remaining firmly held in the dark, cold, ocean. As the incantation stumbled into error, the upward flight lost momentum and the bow and forward part of the waka crashed back to the surface. Thus the prow of the waka was smashed into many fragments, which you can still see as the many islands and deep sounds and fissures at the north of the South Island.

After this crash landing the great canoe overturned and Aoraki and his brothers were forced to climb onto the back of it to avoid drowning. They were stranded in the ocean with no way to return home and eventually the broken incantation caused the canoe and the crew to be turned into stone.

The bodies of Aoraki and his brothers, all of them great chiefs in their own rights, were eventually changed into mountains forming theSouthern Alps, with Aoraki the eldest brother being the highest.

The canoe became the South Island, and is known

by Māori as Te Waka o Aoraki - The Canoe of Aoraki. Aoraki and his brothers thus became the first mountains in New Zealand.

For many years after the disastrous episode suffered by Aoraki and his siblings there was only a stark and rocky landscape u erly devoid of life, fresh water, and other features required to sustain habitation.

It was the deeds and actions of Aoraki's relatives, whom later become the atua - demi gods of the tribal peoples of Waitaha, Rapuwai, Kāti Hawea, Kāti Mamoe and Kāi Tahu, which eventually transformed the landscape. Various forms of life were introduced so that the fate of these sacred relatives, the original crew would not be in vain, the land no longer barren and uninhabitable to human beings.

This creation story of the landscape surrounding Arowhenua is a central tradition for the Waitaha, Rapuwai, Kāti Hawea, Kāti Mamoe, and Kāi Tahu tribes from which the local hapū Kāti Huirapa carry descent.

It is largely on this basis, and as the principal marae in the region, that the Kāti Huirapa and Arowhenua people assume responsibility as kaitiaki - guardians to Aoraki - Mt Cook and the surrounding areas.
Joe Waaka, Mackenzie District Plan 1999.

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Aoraki - Ancestral Mountain - Te Rūnanga o Arowhenua - Arowhenua Marae

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It is from our Aoraki that the story of the Arowhenua people should begin. The relationship between our people and the land begins in the ancient times of Aoraki and the creation of the South Island.

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Explore New Zealand science topics. Plants, animals, land and water.

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Seaweek - Kaupapa Moana 2024

Seaweek is an opportunity for all ages to discover the many ways that our lives are connected to the sea. Seaweek comprises a wide range of events, activities, opportunities, competitions and ...

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Welcome to the Science Learning Hub, a place to find out more about New Zealand science. Watch scientists in action with one of our short video clips, find out what questions are being asked, and explore some of the key ideas.

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Our braided rivers. All about the braided rivers of Canterbury.

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Canterbury rivers restored to original Māori names

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Two South Island rivers in Waiau have been restored to their original Māori names.

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Banks Peninsula - landmarks and history.
From Te Ara: Encyclopedia of New Zealand

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Heroes, ancestors, gods that manifest as rainbows and a basket of heads. Canterbury's rich history is woven through its Māori place names for hills, townships and rivers.

As Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori (Māori Language Week) launches in New Zealand, the te reo names for Canterbury places tell us much about the region's history, myths and legends.

The Māori name for the hills above Lyttelton, near where the gondola reaches its summit, is named after a grisly memento of a battle fought between two iwi about 300 years ago.

READ MORE:
* Te reo Māori names reinstated around Banks Peninsula in Canterbury
* These are the new Māori place names in New Zealand
* We should reinstate every Māori place name

According to Kā Huru Manu, an online atlas compiled by Ngāi Tahu, the hills above Lyttelton are called Ōketeupoko, which means basket of heads. The peaks include the hill also known as Mt Cavendish.

The atlas states that after Ngāi Tahu defeated Ngāti Māmoe in a battle in Lyttelton, Ōhinehou, they displayed the severed heads of some Ngāti Māmoe members in flax baskets, kete, on the rocky outcrops above the harbour.

But many Canterbury place names have less grisly origins. A nearby peak in the Port Hills above the Heathcote Valley is named after a demi-god, atua. Te Tihi-o-Kahukura, also known as Castle Rock, is named after the demi-god Kahukura, who in some stories manifested as the outer bow of a double rainbow.

The peak was one of 13 places across Canterbury that had their te reo names officially recognised by the New Zealand Geographic Board in July.

Others included Ōrongomai, or Cass Peak, a summit in the Port Hills west of Ōhinetahi, Governors Bay. The name of the peak, which is home to a civil aviation navigation dome, means "the place where voices are heard".

It is named after an incident where iwi fighting chief Te Rakiwhakaputa heard the voices of rival iwi Ngāti Māmoe, according to Kā Huru Manu.

Te Heru-o-Kahukura, or Sugarloaf, was another peak officially recognised in July. It is known for its distinctive communications antennae.

But Canterbury is also populated with te reo place names that have fallen into more common use.

Tuahiwi, a small settlement in north Canterbury, means "the back ridge" and is named after a ridge that runs from Kaiapoi to Rangiora.

Kaiapoi in northern Canterbury was named after the historic pā Te Kōhaka-a-kaikai-a-waro, which was later shortened to Kaiapoi.

Rāpaki in Lyttelton Harbour, Whakaraupō, is named after iwi leader Te Rakiwhakaputa, according to Kā Huru Manu.

"Te Rakiwhakaputa decided to settle his people at Whakaraupō to catch pioke (shark) - a delicacy of the region. Te Rakiwhakaputa symbolically placed his rāpaki (waist mat) on the beach to claim the harbour for his people. He settled his sons, whānau, and hapū at Rāpaki to access the rich kaimoana in the harbour,'' the atlas states.

The Māori place names for Christchurch - Ōtautahi - and the Avon River - Ōtākaro - are also becoming more widely used.

Ōtautahi is actually the name of an historic settlement and food gathering place on the banks of the Ōtākaro. Kā Huru Manu places the original settlement in the region of the block bounded by Kilmore St, Barbadoes St and Oxford Tce in the city centre. It is now home to a Piko Wholefoods store.

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Canterbury's Māori place names reveal history, myths and battle stories

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Heroes, ancestors, gods that manifest as rainbows and a basket of heads. Canterbury's rich history is woven through its Māori place names for hills, townships and rivers. As Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori (Māori Language Week) launches in New Zealand, the te reo names for Canterbury places tell us much about the region's history, myths and legends.

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The Canterbury region - landscape, plants, people and places
Te Ara: Encyclopedia of New Zealand