About this research
Is harakeke one key to a sustainable future for Aotearoa and, if it is, how do we utilise it to develop this sustainable future?
This project is examining the interface between mātauranga Māori and ecological science related to harakeke. The case study focuses on Lake Whakaki, in the northern Hawke’s Bay, and explores what the current ecological condition of the lake is, how much the ecosystem has been modified, how sites dominated by harakeke differ from sites where harakeke was removed in the past, to what extent harakeke might restore/protect normal ecological function in Whakaki, and whether replanting harakeke can reverse the degradation of freshwater and adjacent environments.
In the context of a wider programme, these ecologically focused questions then transition to socially focused lines of enquiry using a kaupapa-a-hapū approach, including how this harakeke restoration might impact community wellbeing,how the history of societal and environmental decline can be viewed through the lens of harakeke, and how the Whakaki community might utilise harakeke to maintain healthy environments, generate sustainable incomes and improve societal outcomes.
Kairangahau · Researchers
Dr Simon Hills
Ngāti Porou
Massey University
The overarching theme of my research is understanding the composition, distribution and evolutionary history of New…
Dr Simon Hills
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Dr Simon Hills
Dr Simon Hills
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Professor Linda Waimarie Nikora FRSNZ, HFNZPS
Professor Linda Waimarie Nikora FRSNZ, HFNZPS
Researcher and academic, Professor Linda Waimarie Nikora was formerly the Director of the Māori & Psychology Research Unit in the School of Psychology at the University of Waikato in New Zealand. In 2017, she became a Professor Indigenous Studies at the University of Auckland where she was also Co-Director of Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga, New Zealand’s Māori Centre of Research Excellence (2017-2025). She presently teaches in the Master's of Indigenous Studies programme and supervises dissertations, master's theses and PhDs.Her specialty interests are in the development of indigenous psychologies…
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