A pōhiri for students and whānau was held in March at Te Rau Aroha Marae in Bluff. Photo / Supplied
Māori and Pasifika trade training students learning about Māori architecture and traditional Māori art are helping to build a new Awarua rūnaka educational centre at Waituna Lagoon in Southland, part of one of the last largely untouched wetlands left in Aotearoa.
The students at SIT are studying a ten-month construction programme newly designed to engage them with Murihiku (Southland) history, tikaka (correct procedure and custom) and mātauraka Māori concepts (Māori knowledge and wisdom), as well as Māori architecture and art.
The programme was developed with Awarua rūnaka (iwi council) to provide a pathway for Māori and Pasifika students to learn contemporary trades and construction skills while connecting with Māori cultural values, architecture and art.
The students will help build a transportable whare which will be used as an education centre at Waituna Lagoon, allowing for local schools to visit for environmental and cultural learning.
Local kaiwhakairo (carver), Te Mauri Tini, will provide the students with an introduction to traditional Māori carving, with the potential that their mahi may enhance the architectural and cultural features of the building.
“Their work will be directly beneficial to the community and will be used by future generations for years to come,” SIT executive director, Daryl Haggerty, said.
The students finish their course in December, with the whare set to be transported to Waituna Lagoon by April 2024.
In June 2021, Tā Tipene O’Regan said the return of land at Waituna into Ngāi Tahu ownership was an opportunity for the iwi to get ahead of the curve on climate change, and for the Awarua rūnaka to return to the front foot its tūpuna once held in the region.
"One of the last remaining expanses of relatively unmodified wetlands left in New Zealand, it was highly valued by Ngāi Tahu whānui for the wide variety and reliability of mahika kai it provided for travellers and permanent settlements scattered around its fringes."
Waituna Lagoon is part of the 20,000 ha Awarua Wetland which stretches from Fortrose to Bluff, Environment Southland says, adding that every year thousands of migratory birds travel from the northern hemisphere to visit the estuaries with many migratory fish passing through them on their way up rivers.