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 […]
Māori voice in Council strategy
Mariana and her father, Fred Vercoe, at a community wānanga. Healthy Families Rotorua has facilitated engagement with local iwi to ensure a new Council strategy has a strong cultural foundation. Systems innovator, Mariana Vercoe, has been involved in a collaboration with Rotorua Lakes Council (RLC) and other key stakeholders to provide a Māori insight on […]
Gold whetū for Matariki
Rotorua’s Matariki celebration at Motutara Point last month has received a gold star from Te Arawa kōeke. Healthy Families Rotorua lead systems innovator, Pirihira Whata, says the umu kohukohu whetū was hailed a success by kōeke at a recent follow-up hui with the event’s organising committee. She says overall, everyone was pleased with how the […]
Videos to reduce alcohol harm
Filming took place last week on a series of videos being created for Healthy Families Rotorua’s Ruru Parirau kaupapa to reduce alcohol-related harm. Systems innovator, Teteira Ormsby, says the videos will tell positive stories about the relationship between Māori and alcohol to help re-balance damage from long-standing stereotypes. Ruru Parirau research reveals how negative stereotyping […]
PROFILE: Aneta Morgan
Aneta Morgan believes the resurgence of mātauranga Māori practices and age-old traditions can be the solution to many of the world’s problems. Aneta is the team lead of Rotorua Lakes Council’s Te Amorangi Unit and a member of Healthy Families Rotorua’s Senior Leadership Group (SLG). She was invited to join the SLG because of her […]
Essence of Matariki
The city’s inaugural Matariki civic ceremony will provide locals and visitors the opportunity to participate in a traditional umu kohukohu whetū. To honour Matariki being observed as a public holiday, Rotorua will hold an umu kohukohu whetū on Friday 24 June at Motutara Point on the shores of Lake Rotorua. A Ngāti Whakaue representative, Kingi […]
Puna hidden gems
Healthy Families Rotorua systems innovators Stevee Wikiriwhi and Teteira Ormsby discovered some gems during their research haerenga at Waitawa Puna last week. The pair mapped the puna from Owhatiura, through Lynmore, and towards Lake Rotorua as part of the Waitawa Restoration Project, which Stevee is leading. She will be fostering relationships with mana whenua, hapū, […]
City to celebrate Matariki
A traditional hautapu will feature in Rotorua’s first ever Matariki civic ceremony to celebrate the Māori New Year. Healthy Families Rotorua lead systems innovator, Pirihira Whata, has been collaborating with Ngāti Whakaue, Ngāti Uenukukopako, Ngā Pou ō Whakapoungakau, Rotorua Lakes Council, Te Tatau o Te Arawa, Pukeroa Oruawhata Trust, Matariki exponents and whānau representatives to […]
Ranui joins national research
Healthy Families Rotorua will be embedding mātauranga Māori into a nationwide sleep study thanks to the determined efforts of lead systems innovator, Ranui Maxwell. When Ranui recalibrated Te Arawa sleep strategy, He Āhuru Mōwai, last year, her research led her to Massey University’s Sleep/Wake Research Centre. While her interest was initially piqued by the “flash […]
Award for Papa Rereata
Healthy Families Rotorua congratulates Rereata Makiha for his achievement in the 2022 Kiwibank New Zealander of the Year Awards. Papa Rereata was announced yesterday as the recipient of the Ryman Healthcare Senior New Zealander of the Year (Te Mātāputu o Te Tau) Award. The award acknowledges people who have made a positive contribution to Aotearoa […]
