Restoring Te Awarua o Porirua

The wetlands and surrounding forests of Te Awarua o Porirua, or Porirua Harbour, were once rich food baskets for Ngāti Toa Rangatira. But decades of development throughout the catchment - large-scale deforestation, road and rail building and urban growth - have brought sediment and pollution into the harbour, damaging the habitat. Veronika Meduna meets some of the team working to restore the harbour to its former plenty.

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Learn more:

• Julian Wilcox recently spoke to artists Jasmine Arthur and Te Rauparaha Horomona about Ngati Toa in Porirua and the opening of a new exhibition Mutumutu ki Mukukai Freshwater to Salt Water.
• Ngāti Toa Rangatira celebrated the return of their sacred maunga, Whitireia, to iwi ownership earlier this year.
• Alison Ballance visited both Porirua and Wairarapa in 2018 to explore how environmental impacts travel from the hills to the sea and what communities are willing to do to make their waterways cleaner and healthier again.

Guests:

• Kaumatua Te Taku Parai, Ashleigh Sagar, Robert McLean and Jaida Howard of Ngāti Toa Rangatira
• Brian Thomas, Porirua City Council
• Bryce and Jacqueline Watkins
• Lisa Casasanto and Jon Bluemel, Kahotea stream Restoration Group
• John McKoy and Simon Glover, Guardians of Pauatahanui Inlet

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details