Local wai system champion
Lorraine Hall (Ngāti Hūrungaterangi) has always believed that Māori women are great leaders and can achieve anything they set their minds to. She continues to validate this belief as the lead of Puna Ora, the care group tasked with restoring the Waitawa Stream in Rotorua. After her final years at high school, Lorraine made the […]
Local kai system champion
The man behind Rotorua’s kūmara revitalisation is Te Rangikaheke Bidois from Kai Rotorua. He says growing kai, particularly the kūmara, goes back to his whakapapa.
Waikawa rejuvenation
Rejuvenating physical and mental wellbeing, whakawhanaungatanga, and wānanga for whānau is at the fore of the Waikawa Restoration Project. Healthy Families Rotorua systems innovators, Stevee Wikiriwhi and Teteira Ormsby, have joined forces with GNS Science, Bay of Plenty Regional Council, Parakore, Māori Land Court, and iwi to regenerate the geothermal waters of the Rotokawa baths […]
Waitawa Restoration Project
Waitawa Stream is on its way to becoming a healthy habitat where freshwater plants and animals can flourish. The Waitawa Restoration Project is a collaboration of local leaders and experts in the environmental space who are working together to revitalise the mauri of the former thriving stream in the eastern suburbs of Rotorua. Healthy Families […]
Taonga puoro helping COPD
Taonga puoro (Māori musical instruments) are proving to be effective tools in reducing respiratory issues for Māori men. Rotorua Smokefree Partnership Group reconvened for the year with a presentation to the group from health mentor and taonga puoro advocate, Sam Runga. Sam shared his story on how he could better manage his chronic obstructive pulmonary […]
New sleep survey
Healthy Families Rotorua is seeking Te Arawa perspectives on sleep through a new survey released today. The Te Arawa Sleep strategy is a kaupapa Māori approach to strengthening mental resilience in the community by improving sleep quality. The strategy will be iwi-led and inspired by Te Arawa mātauranga and lived voice through co-design and collaboration […]
The year that was 2022
The incredible energy of maramataka and Matariki has inspired 2022 for Healthy Families Rotorua. Healthy Families Rotorua manager, Jenny Kaka-Scott, says key outcomes achieved this year celebrated the revitalisation of mātauranga Māori and traditional practices. “Our team has shown evidence of scaling up early Healthy Families’ prototypes. Empowered by last year’s successful Te Hekenga-ā-Rongo maramataka […]
Piki Maunga Crew trek Tongariro
Hoki atu ki tōu maunga kia purea ai e koe ki ngā hau o Tāwhirimātea.Return to your mountain to be cleansed by the winds of Tāwhirimātea. While weather conditions influenced the path we took, our Piki Maunga crew’s spirits were lifted in the wairua-enhancing atmosphere of the Tongariro Crossing at the weekend. Piki Maunga is […]
Te Arawa stories and cycling
Te Arawa stories will be at the fore of a new activation to get more people walking and biking on the city’s shared footpaths and roads.
Matariki kūmara planting
Healthy Families Rotorua is working with Kai Rotorua to plant a special maara Matariki for the city’s official umu kohukohu whetū next year. Lead systems innovator, Pirihira Whata, says the garden will be established at Te Puea Orchard with traditional kūmara varieties, such as hutihuti and taputini, and will be used as hautapu (offerings) for […]
