As the Māori new year dawns upon us, Te Karere brings together those representing the best of our kāhui whetū, Matariki.
Today's star takes us to the pristine waters of Rotorua, where we meet our Waitī representative, William Anaru.
"E tū Waitī
Ko te wai māori
Tuna heke ki a Wainui
Kia puta ko te ora o Parawhenuamea
Koia!
Behold Waitī
Of fresh water
Eels heading to the ocean
Reveal the bounty of Parawhenuamea
Indeed!"
William Anaru (Te Arawa) descends from the great lakes of Rotorua. He is someone who has made significant contributions to the water quality of the lakes and rivers that surround the area.
Anaru said invasive aquatic weeds have seen water quality across Aotearoa deteriorate over the last 50-60 years, leading to the depletion of native species in the waterways.
Currently serving as the Operations Manager of Biosecurity and Taiao Restoration at Te Arawa Lakes Trust, Anaru and his team were assigned to work on a special project that would see the problem controlled in some way.
“There was an opportunity given to us to look at other tools that we could create.”
The idea was a harakeke mat called uwhi. When secured to the bottom of the lake/riverbed, the mats prevent sunlight from reaching the weeds, stinting their growth.
The first of these mats were laid at Lake Rotoiti in 2021. Since that time, dozens of uwhi mats have been laid in rivers and lakes across the Rotorua region. Although the trial phase is still ongoing, Anaru believes the traditionally innovative idea will be used as an example for waterways across Aotearoa.
“It’s been pretty successful at getting rid of the weed in the trial we’re doing at the moment...our next step is to grow that and get it bigger in around the motu.”
Another initiative to eliminate invasive species is Catfish Killas, a programme established in 2016 to stop the spread of catfish, and eventually eliminate them in Te Arawa lakes.
The group consists of Te Arawa iwi members and volunteers who are dedicated to restoring and protecting all 14 lakes within the Te Arawa region.
William and his team have since been teaching volunteers how to lay nets and educating kōhanga reo, kura kaupapa Māori, primary, intermediate and high schools on how to stop the spread and growth of catfish in their waterways.
“We’ve got 36 schools involved from around Te Arawa, not just in Rotorua but we’ve got schools coming from Te Puke, Papamoa, Matatā, and there’s interest from around the country about what we’ve been doing which is awesome.”
Since its establishment, the kaupapa has been hugely successful in protecting Te Arawa waterways, growing an army of 1,500 volunteers who have eliminated over 180,000 catfish.
A major goal for William for the Catfish Killas kaupapa is to grow their mātauranga science fair Te Tukohu Ngawha which began last year. It has since grown to 50 schools involved and over 100 exhibits in the Te Tukohu Ngawha science fair.
“The main thing for us was to grow the programme, coming into the new year (Matariki) we really want to continue growing that programme... and get more of our tamariki out there in the taiao, learning those practical important skills and how we can practically look after Papatūānuku and our roto.”
By Kataraina Anneff
SHARE ME