2025 Successful projects

The Hokonui Rūnanga, based in Gore, is advancing its research into sustainable land-based aquaculture systems to enhance food security in response to climate change. This project aims to explore and develop culturally, socially, and biologically suitable hatchery technologies for freshwater taonga species such as kēwai/kōura (freshwater crayfish) and kākahi (freshwater mussel). It builds upon existing hatchery technologies developed for kanakana (lamprey), focusing on refining captive breeding techniques and understanding species interactions in freshwater, integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) systems.

Science, innovation, and technology underpin this initiative, using modern aquaculture methods alongside traditional mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge). Key research activities include developing husbandry protocols for kākahi, which have a complex life cycle involving parasitic larvae (glochidium) that requires host fish, such as Galaxias species like adult whitebait. This research will significantly enhance knowledge about captive breeding and management practices for these important and taonga (treasured) species.

The project is delivered by the Hokonui Rūnanga in partnership with the New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research Limited, leveraging extensive scientific expertise and mātauranga Māori. The collaboration will foster new research capabilities, skills development, and knowledge-sharing within Hokonui Rūnanga, benefiting the wider community through educational outreach and capacity-building activities.

Expected outcomes of this project include enhanced capability for freshwater aquaculture, strengthened relationships and collaboration between Māori and scientific communities, and potential long-term economic and environmental benefits. Ultimately, this initiative supports conservation efforts, reconnects communities with traditional practices, and lays the foundation for developing indigenous-led captive breeding strategies for economic development from significant freshwater species in Aotearoa-New Zealand.

Environmental change driven by climate dynamics presents urgent and complex challenges for Māori communities across Aotearoa New Zealand. At the same time, it offers space to reimagine how we live with land and water — not through retreat, but through re-design. Ka Mate Kāinga Tahi, Ora Kāinga Rua reframes climate adaptation as an expression of tino rangatiratanga and intergenerational wellbeing.

This iwi-led research, based in the Ōpōtiki rohe, is a partnership between Te Tāwharau o Te Whakatōhea and Te Whare Wānaka o Aoraki Lincoln University. It will develop and document an approach to long-term spatial and settlement planning that integrates geospatial science and mātauranga Māori. Particular focus will be placed on nature-based land-water design strategies that respond to the specific adaptation challenges and opportunities of Te Whakatōhea’s rohe.

Mātauranga Whakatōhea will underpin a kaupapa Māori design framework that:

• Identifies and maps risk-prone whenua and hāpori using Geospatial Investigation Science (GIS) and analysis;
• Collates Eastern Bay of Plenty environmental change modelling;
• Develops Māori-led urban and landscape design strategies grounded in tikanga, whakapapa and whānau aspirations;
• Co-design iwi-led spatial and temporal, planning strategies for settlement and productive whenua in the Te Whakatōhea rohe; and
• Explore Te Whakatōhea narratives of environmental change and ecological knowledge, co-designing communication outputs to effectively engage other iwi and inform regional and national adaptation policy.

The project’s outcomes will support national climate adaptation by centralising mātauranga Māori and tikanga in landscape planning. It will also contribute to international discourse on Indigenous leadership in adaptation and the redesign of human–environment relationships.

The health and wellbeing of Tangata Whenua is inherently tied to the health of their whenua—when the land thrives, so too do the people. For communities like Whareroa Marae of Ngāti Kuku, located near heavy industry, there is heightened exposure to a complex mix of known and unknown contaminants across interconnected systems of air, soil, water, and mahinga kai. These environmental pressures are further intensified by broader issues such as soil degradation, food insecurity, and inadequate housing—challenges that continue to disproportionately affect Tangata Whenua across Aotearoa.

Ngāti Kuku have long voiced concerns about these pressures and their impacts on whānau health and hapū wellbeing. Despite clear signs of environmental degradation on their whenua and papakāinga, there remains a significant lack of publicly accessible soil health data—especially in urban and industrial areas.

This Vision Mātauranga-funded project, co-led by Ngāti Kuku and Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research, responds to this gap. It acknowledges the vital role of hapū in protecting marae wellbeing, particularly in anthropogenic environments where few tailored tools exist.

By combining mātauranga ā-hapū and western science, the project will co-develop a marae-specific soil health approach and toolkit, starting with Whareroa Marae. It supports long-term hapū strategies focused on soil health, kai security, and housing resilience. The initiative will also strengthen hapū capability by ensuring tools are developed with kaitiaki and are fit for purpose. Development of the toolkit and our rationalised health indicators will be supported by trialling the toolkit to co-evaluate the targeted at-risk site, including testing specific soil contaminants of concern, such as a suite of trace metals.

A step-by-step guide will be created to support future application and inform local decision-making. Ultimately, this project contributes to future-focused solutions for whenua health—grounded in the understanding that healthy environments are inseparable from the wellbeing of the whānau who live alongside them.

Te Rohe (region) o Ngāti Kuri encompasses one million square kilometres of diverse land, forest, ocean and wetland habitats that support many endemic species of flora and fauna in the Far North.   A major concern to Ngāti Kuri, is the increased risk of wildfires threatening biodiversity hotspots including Rerenga Wairua (Cape Rēinga), culturally significant sites and community preparedness. This Iwi-led and co-designed initiative aims to advance Ngāti Kuri wildfire capability and aspirations in partnership with Scion’s wildfire science expertise.

This wildfire knowledge collaboration brings together: 

• Ngāti Kuri: Leading with traditional knowledge, practices, and plans. 
• Scion: Providing scientific and research expertise, tools and guidance. 
• FENZ: Collaborating on wildfire management advice. 

The project activities include travel exchanges to the Far North, collaboration in local assessment of fire environmental factors, and the use of mitigation tools towards the development of a contextualised Iwi wildfire management plan for the Far North. The team leverages forest flammability research from the Extreme Wildfire Programme and expertise in Prometheus fire spread modelling, fuels and fire behaviour. This project will strengthen relationships between Ngāti Kuri, Scion, and FENZ, enhancing Iwi aspirations for wildfire prevention, response, and recovery. It will be informed by fire science and grounded by mātauranga.

The knowledge exchange will continue to build on the strong foundation and relationship that Ngāti Kuri has with Girringun Aboriginal traditional knowledge-holders of fire. It will support the growing wildfire capability and capacity of Ngāti Kuri and extend to surrounding Iwi and communities. Long-term impacts include demonstrating the benefits of Indigenous practices combined with economically viable methods of creating fire-resilient areas, scientific tools and insights for wildfire planning for New Zealand. These benefits collectively contribute to an informed localised approach to wildfire resilience, acknowledging cultural values, scientific innovation, and new practices that can advance wildfire management in New Zealand.

This project will provide research, science and innovation (RSI) to support collaborative, interdisciplinary engineering projects in a sector that seeks to embrace Te Ao Māori and support uptake and application of engineering by Māori communities. This will be achieved by building RSI connection to mātauranga-inspired engineering projects designed to advance Māori priorities. The project will be led by Pūhoro Charitable Trust in collaboration with Te Kura Mata-Ao | School of Engineering, University of Waikato and respective industry partners.

There are currently limited opportunities for Indigenous knowledge to enrich contemporary engineering solutions, few professionally qualified Māori engineers and, even fewer Māori communities formally engaged in engineering projects. While inspiring young people to train in STEM may contribute to a workforce pipeline, this strategy is inadequate for enabling engineers to understand the Indigenous landscape or support Māori communities’ ability to solution seek across engineering fields for sustainable community living options that reflect Māori views.

To address this, our project will explore how to increase capability in engineering and mātauranga research science and innovation to find sustainable environmental resource solutions to aging and insufficient infrastructures and build community resilience to climate change challenges such as the impact of extreme weather events.

Our research plan will be completed in two phases:

1. defining core engineering concepts and connecting these with mātauranga engineering principles, practices and technological feats;
2. targeting initiation of new engineering projects via new RSI networks which connect Māori organisations, engineering training, and industry.

The immediate outcomes will include a research and development (R&D) plan. In the mid- to long-term we expect to increase Māori involvement in engineering projects at the mātauranga-science interface and transform industry practises.

This research spans multiple engineering disciplines and aligns with the Engineering New Zealand (Te Ao Rangahau) research strategy, and collaborations with engineering training programmes/practitioners are an integral part of this research project.

This VMCF Connect project is aimed at investigating nematode diversity associated with kūmara (Ipomoea batatas) crops in Aotearoa | New Zealand and the potential threat these pose to the national kūmara sector, Māori (indigenous peoples of Aotearoa) kūmara growers and taonga (treasured and/or heritage) varieties.

Findings garnered from this project will provide new tools for kūmara growers with regard to assessing and identifying nematode risk, damage and management. Whilst the nematode diversity and classification information will provide new data for the wider kūmara, horticulture and science sectors. This data is becoming increasingly important with recent reports of plant pathogenic nematode species entering Australia.

This information is key for Māori kūmara growers who rely on the crop for social, physical and economic sustenance, and may prove integral in the continued preservation of taonga kūmara varieties.

This project sees Tahuri Whenua and Lincoln University work in partnership, creating opportunities for co-design and co-leadership, and for sector and culture-centric research utilising a ‘best of both worlds’ approach.

This project brings together traditional knowledge and modern science to protect and unlock the potential of a taonga (treasured) plant species. It is a collaborative effort led by three iwi entities – Ngāti Hauā, Ngāti Hinerangi, and Te Kawerau ā Maki – alongside research partners Rua Bioscience, Plant & Food Research, Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research, and IO Ltd.

The project’s main goal is to support the sustainable management of Wairuakoha (Radula marginata), an endemic bryophyte, and explore its therapeutic potential. By combining Mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge) with scientific research, the team will carry out detailed surveys to assess the plant’s population health across various rohe (tribal areas). Fieldwork will include setting up sample plots to monitor the plant’s growth and resilience, guided by the expertise of both iwi-based environmental practitioners (kaimahi-a-taiao) and ecologists.

This initiative is more than just research – it’s about building long-term conservation skills and leadership within iwi communities. The project will strengthen Māori capability in environmental science, ensuring that both knowledge systems are respected and that skills are shared between Māori and research institutions.

In the short term, the project will provide valuable data about the plant’s condition and habitat. In the medium term, it will support iwi-led conservation planning and collaboration for taonga management as well as deepen Māori involvement in scientific research and commercialisation. Over the long term, this work has the potential to contribute to Māori economic development and improve health outcomes, particularly through the development of therapeutic products and functional foods that are culturally grounded and sustainably sourced.

By weaving together innovation, science, and mātauranga, this project sets a strong foundation for future research and kaitiakitanga (guardianship) of taonga species.

This project will develop a new monitoring tool to support the recovery of taonga manu (native birds) in Aotearoa New Zealand, with a special focus on the critically endangered kākāriki karaka (orange-fronted parakeet). With only a few hundred manu left in the wild, and having been declared extinct twice before, this manu is at serious risk.

The aim of the project is to create a practical, culturally grounded tool that blends mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge) with western science. This tool will guide decisions about where and how to monitor manu, how to assess their wellbeing and how to support their recovery over time.

The project is led by Yvette Couch-Lewis (MNZM, Ngāi Tahu Kākāriki karaka representative) and Kitson Consulting (a Kaupapa Māori led science & conservation consultancy), with support from Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu. It will support mana whenua to design and lead recovery approaches based on their own tikanga and aspirations.

By integrating mātauranga Māori with Western science, we aim to address a gap; DOC recovery programs have often lacked a Māori-led framework. This project will transform how whānau and iwi participate and lead in DOC recovery groups. Crucially, we will work closely with DOC to ensure the tool is seamlessly integrated into their systems.

Expected outcomes include increased iwi capacity to participate in and lead species recovery, strengthen kaitiakitanga (guardianship), and a framework that empowers whānau to care for taonga manu across generations. This tool will also be adapted for use with other species in future.

By restoring the connection between people, birds and the environment, this project supports both ecological and cultural resilience. It aims to grow the next generation of Māori conservation leaders who are confident using both mātauranga and science to care for our native species.

The tool and framework developed in this programme have the potential to lead to significant efficiency gains and cost savings in this and other species conservation contexts.

For more information, contact Jana Hayes at Jana.Hayes@ngaitahu.iwi.nz

Ngāti Rēhia are kaitiaki of the Mataatua waka, our ancestors relay that its final resting place is in Tākou awa, which flows into Tākou Bay. Ngāti Rēhia hapū have clear visions and aspirations pertaining to our active kaitiakitanga around our rohe moana, which over several decades has faced an alarming decline in species diversity, particularly in taonga like Kina, due to a range of threats including deforestation sedimentation and rising water temperatures. Our tikanga is key in enabling our Tino Rangatiratanga which is the tenet of our future marine kaitiaki aspirations and our future vision for our rohe moana.

This project will facilitate and materialise this vision through utilising transdisciplinary knowledge from Mātauranga Māori and Marine sciences lead by PhD candidate Kiri Reihana and Professor Kura Paul Burke to develop a ‘Moana Recuperation Action Plan (MRAP) for our hapū of Ngāti Rēhia and our rohe moana.

The research will facilitate and mobilise our mātauranga to:

• Synthesize the existing knowledge around our rohe moana to inform our plan
• Use our mātauranga to inform our plans and aquaculture prospecting,
• Deliver evidence-based, scalable solutions to enable and materialise our vision.

Activities include conducting ecological baseline audits and building capacity in free-dive training for environmental monitoring and repatriation, in order to support our active kaitiakitanga.

This project seeks to explore future innovation opportunities, these are Traditionally informed contemporary aquaculture farming integrating into a larger indigenous based administrative system coined ‘Marine Resected areas’ (MRA) in this pioneering programme.

This will be the first project to examine what is an MRA, what can it look like, how can it empower indigenous people in place, based on our indigenous knowledge, such as Rāhui and traditional harvesting practices, and what opportunities this may provide in marine management innovation for our future.

Cyclone Gabrielle and other recent disasters exposed gaps in Aotearoa NZ’s current emergency management system. While Māori communities were quick to respond, their knowledge, leadership, and capability are often excluded from official systems. This project addresses that gap by creating space for Māori to lead and integrate disaster sciences for a more inclusive and effective emergency management.

The project will establish a National Māori Disaster Practitioners Network to support community-based emergency preparedness, response, and recovery. Led by Te Tira Whakamātaki and Ahikaea, the work blends mātauranga Māori with disaster sciences to create solutions that protect people, places, and taonga.

Through a multi-phase approach, the team will engage with iwi, hapū and marae to understand needs, develop a culturally grounded disaster response framework, and pilot this in selected regions, starting with Te Whanganui-a-Tara, working alongside mana whenua, where the country’s national response to any major event will be directed. A cohort of Māori disaster practitioners will be trained and connected through the network. Their leadership will enhance readiness, reduce risk, and enable Māori to support not only their own communities but others across the motu.

NZ scientists have worked to build an understanding of our many natural hazards, some exacerbated by climate change. This project integrates cutting-edge disaster sciences into community preparedness through digital innovations, community-based scenario training, and crisis communication. We will draw on national and international partnerships and explore how technology and science can be better integrated with tikanga and community knowledge.

In the short term, needs assessments and regional pilots will be completed. In the medium term, the network will be operational with bi-lingual CIMS training underway and formal agency partnerships established. In the long term, the network will be nationally recognised and integrated into emergency systems, positioning Māori leadership, values, and knowledge as central to Aotearoa NZ’s disaster resilience.

Te Weu Charitable Trust will work alongside Te Pa o Penu, Rongohaere Marae and the wider Makarika community to develop a framework for community-led climate resilience research in Tairāwhiti. In this project Te Weu will grow connections to build the research capability, knowledge systems, and relationships needed to explore the creation of a community science platform. This work will help local communities better respond to increasingly severe weather events affecting our rivers and land.

The project will create a knowledge repository combining scientific data (about the Waiapu catchment's climate, hydrology, and ecology) with mātauranga Māori, develop community-led climate adaptation strategies, and host skill-building workshops to enhance local capacity. We will build understanding of sustainable land management practices informed by both scientific understanding and mātauranga about the environment. Working with research partners NIWA, Manaaki Whenua, the University of Auckland, the University of Waikato and Carbon Critical, we will bring together expertise in climate science, river systems, and environmental health with local mātauranga and practices to create a Puna Mātauranga - a Centre of Excellence in Climate Resilience Science - that will serve as a living laboratory for research and learning. This collaborative approach honours the principle of "ka mua, ka muri" – looking to the past to guide our future.

Expected outcomes include stronger community capacity for climate resilience, new skills in research and land management, preservation and revitalisation of mātauranga, and improved environmental conditions in our waterways and surrounding land. The project will support intergenerational knowledge exchange between pakeke and rangatahi, ensuring valuable mātauranga continues to inform our relationship with the environment. The approach we develop will create pathways where mātauranga Māori and scientific approaches work together to protect te taiao for future generations, potentially serving as a model for other communities facing similar climate challenges.

Rimurimu (seaweed) blooms have surged globally, fuelled by nutrient overload, reduced herbivory from over-fishing, and climate change. Along the Whangārei coast, drifting rimurimu is washing ashore and decomposing, disrupting coastal ecosystems and impacting all those connected to these places, especially mana whenua. The Whangārei Harbour Kaitiaki Roopū, a hapū collective, is concerned about threats to te oranga - the well-being of people and the environment - and the changes driving these events. They are also interested in exploring potential uses for stranded rimurimu and opportunities for their hapori (community).

This project honours mātauranga Māori, a holistic knowledge system embracing scientific observation and technological innovation, with four key activities: TITIRO (observe), MŌHIO (identify), WETEWETE (analyse) and WHAKĀTU (map). Cawthron scientists will work alongside kaitiaki (guardians) to address their concerns, strengthen understanding about rimurimu and stranding events, and co-develop tools and pathways to support informed decision-making and guide future research.

To track when and where strandings occur, we will co-design a bilingual web application to collect observations, integrating multiple perspectives. By promoting this app, kaitiaki will encourage engagement from hapori, the wider community, Councils and research organisations. These observations, combined with satellite imagery, will be used to map the extent of stranded and drifting rimurimu. Analysing these patterns may provide insights into environmental drivers, risks, and possible opportunities related to rimurimu strandings.

Stranded rimurimu releases strong odours as it decomposes and can smother coastal organisms. To better understand the species that are washing ashore, we will build capacity in species identification - providing tailored field guides and hands-on wānanga for kaitiaki. This will support exploration of alternative uses, including profiling dominant species for potential value.

This partnership is committed to developing tools that weave together traditional knowledge and modern technologies to effectively monitor and respond to our changing environment.

Karengo is a type of edible red seaweed native to New Zealand that is abundant in the Kaikōura region and has been a traditional food source for the local hapū, Ngāti Kuri. It is prized for its taste and health-promoting qualities and could also indicate environmental health. Commercial wild harvest occurred up until 2016, but the 2016 Kaikōura earthquake caused a massive disruption of coastal ecosystems, leading to wide variation in the abundance of karengo, and highlighting the need for new approaches to managing and understanding the potential of this precious resource.

This project addresses this need by combining traditional Māori knowledge, ecological science, and community engagement. Ecological surveys will be conducted at harvest sites to assess karengo coverage and the prevalence of individual karengo species. The work builds an enduring partnership, te ara teitei (the higher path), to create a deeper understanding of karengo in its natural environment and foster inter-generational engagement through citizen science.

The project team includes karengo researchers based at Cawthron Institute, Nelson (led by Dr Tom Wheeler), members of the Ngāti Kuri hapū (Caitlin Sowden, Lorraine Hawke and Maurice Manawatu), the University of Canterbury (Dr John Pirker) and Environment Canterbury (Dr Channel Thoms).

The project will highlight the inter-dependencies of karengo with other significant marine species, help understand its resilience to environmental and climate changes, and establish a database for long-term resource monitoring through citizen science. These will lead to improved karengo and other marine seafood resources management using a culturally appropriate approach (kaitiakitanga). This work ensures continued access, understanding and protection of Ngāti Kuri pūrākau and traditional kaimoana through customary harvesting, may facilitate the identification and development of commercial opportunities, and will lead to improved health outcomes for the local community through consumption of this health-promoting taonga seaweed.

This project seeks to integrate Mātauranga Māori with modern science to create a sustainable, organic approach to agriculture. Based around the Motatau community and Waimahae Marae, a team of Māori and non-Māori scientists from Plant and Food Research is collaborating closely with local Māori leaders to restore the land’s natural ecosystem. The project emphasizes establishing locally sourced indigenous plants (such as Podocarpus totara) before introducing commercial crops and mara kai. By establishing native plants, the project can achieve significant ecological impact through restoring the land’s natural biodiversity, reduced reliance on synthetic chemical pesticides, fostering more resilient crops against pest and disease incursions, and promoting long-term land health.

The project will contribute to scientific knowledge by developing an ecological approach to crop protection based on indigenous knowledge and scientific research. The integration of native plants into cropping systems offers an innovative, eco-friendly alternative to synthetic chemical inputs. This could influence future agricultural practices in Aotearoa and beyond.

Guided by kaitiakitanga (guardianship), Prime Holdings Ltd (Ngāti Hine, Te Taitokerau), the project’s lead, is committed to a 700-year vision of environmental stewardship. The PFR team brings expertise across various disciplines, including soil science, new crops, crop protection, and crop production. Key activities include identification and planting of native flora and monitoring insect species present in native plant (in-situ) clusters to determine likely benefits to pest reduction through biological control. Respected Ngāti Hine kaumātua, will lead wānanga (learning sessions) to share traditional knowledge with the community and PFR scientists.

Persistent efforts by tangata whenua for fisheries rights secured under Te Tiriti o Waitangi led to settlements that aimed to improve access to and management of key fishing places and resources, via establishment of customary protection areas. These areas are managed voluntarily by tangata tiaki/kaitiaki, who can apply local knowledge and mātauranga Māori in recommending management changes to the Minister responsible for fisheries.

Effective management, however, also requires ongoing monitoring and active restoration—such as establishing biodiversity baselines and tracking species recovery—which are time-consuming, costly, and usually unfunded. As a result, tangata tiaki/kaitiaki often have limited resources to carry out this work. This research aims to support customary managers in the Ngāi Tahu takiwā by assessing ecological and social benefits of current workstreams and exploring pathways for continued progress.

Projects such as invasive species control, species restoration, and native habitat remediation are already being undertaken in some customary protection areas. The ecological impacts of these workstreams will be assessed by comparing biodiversity and ecosystem functions between managed and as-yet unmanaged sites. Concurrently, the social impacts of participating in active marine management, and of its outcomes, will also be investigated. This will be achieved through a collaboration between tangata tiaki/kaitiaki from customary protection areas within the Ngāi Tahu takiwā, and personnel from Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, Te Tiaki Mahinga Kai, and the University of Otago.

Financial support for future monitoring and restoration projects could be provided by biodiversity credit schemes. Credits, based on expected biodiversity improvements, can be purchased by companies or individuals wishing to support conservation. By providing evidence of biodiversity gains achieved by current projects, this research also aims to enable tangata tiaki/kaitiaki to access these credit schemes, thereby providing future funding opportunities for continued management in customary protection areas.