Developing a Ngāi Tahu tool for monitoring taonga species

Group image at the Rāpaki Schoolhouse before field testing

The team of Tiaki Taiao rangers from Te Hapū o Ngāti Wheke team is contributing to the development of a new cultural monitoring and assessment tool to support the recovery of Ngāi Tahu taonga manu.

The aim of the project is to create a practical, culturally grounded tool that blends mātauranga Māori with western science. This tool will guide decisions about monitoring and assessing manu recovery and enables mana whenua to design and lead recovery approaches based on their own tikanga and aspirations. The tool looks to grow the next generation of Ngāi Tahu conservation leaders.

On Friday 17 April, the rangers, Ngāi Tahu taonga species expert Yvette Couch-Lewis, Ben Hodgson and Rata Pryor Rodgers from Tohu Environmental, and kaimahi from Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu carried out field testing of the first prototype of the tool in the Taukahara Valley near Rāpaki.

Field testing in Taukahara Valley

The tool guides tikanga and kawa and after a karakia, the group set out in silence (to soak up the sounds and movements of the ngahere) through a gateway of gorse into the regenerating forest to use the tool to assess the wellbeing of the pīwakawaka population in the valley. Several pīwakawaka made an appearance, giving the group ample opportunity to observe their behaviour and appearance and listen to their chattering. The group also heard a chorus of bird song and saw other manu including korimako and kererū in the reserve - a testament to the amazing mahi of the Tiaki Taiao team in the valley. Using the tool, the group recorded their observations about the health of the manu and the ngahere supporting them.

Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu received project funding from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment through the Vision Mātauranga Capability Fund to develop the tool and has engaged Tohu Environmental to undertake this mahi, with guidance from Ngāi Tahu taonga species experts.

Yvette Couch-Lewis is the cultural visionary for the tool. Yvette is currently the Ngāi Tahu species representative for kākāriki karaka and has been involved in taonga species conservation for many years. She says the idea for the tool initially came out of a wānanga of taonga species experts.

“We identified the need for a mātauranga Māori tool to monitor and assess the wellbeing of our taonga species through a Ngāi Tahu lens,” Yvette says.

The current prototype is paper-based and will transform into a hardy field booklet, enabling it to be used out in the field regardless of internet connectivity or cellphone coverage. However, consideration is also being given to an app-based version of the tool and establishing a process to digitise the data from the physical booklet.