On Thursday 15 June 2017 Aotearoa lost one of its greatest environmental advocates, Kahurangi Nganeko Kaihau Minhinnick, of Ngaati Te Ata – Waiohua. From the age of eleven, Nganeko Kaihau was expected to undertake legal and environmental issues for her iwi, Ngaati Te Ata, because she was the most fluent English-speaker in her whanau. With […]
Matariki…Nga Mihi o te Tau Hou
July 17, 2017 by Leave a Comment
… a time for mourning and letting go of those who have died in the past year, for gathering with friends and enjoying the foods harvested and preserved in the autumn, and for reflecting on possible futures…. … and for saying ” nga mihi o te tau hou” – “happy new year”…to you.
about us…
May 17, 2017 by 1 Comment
Kia ora koutou, We’ve had a break from writing newsletters since November 2016, and feel it’s time to start again. Not necessarily every month, though! From Tanya… Kia ora koutou…It’s now two months since my left hip joint was successfully replaced, so I’m back to swimming, and biking to strengthen muscles. I made good use of […]
Poutasi Ukulele Project
May 17, 2017 by 1 Comment
We are delighted to say that the Samoan Ukulele Project, which we first wrote about almost two years ago, has now come to fruition! The Prime Minister of Samoa opened a new workshop for making ukulele, attached to the Arts and Crafts Centre in Poutasi Village, on Wednesday 5 April this year- and […]
Coromandel Peninsula
May 17, 2017 by 2 Comments
We’ve just returned from a five-day visit to the Coromandel Peninsula and Mercury Bay. We had two reasons for going at this time: to go to the one-off Moana Maniapoto Concert in Coromandel Township, and to link up there with our friend and former gardener Sue and her partner Susie for a late summer holiday […]
Moana Maniapoto
May 17, 2017 by 2 Comments
Nga mihi nui ki a Moana Maniapoto, wahine toa, te manutioriori ataahua… Moana Maniapoto’s evening at the tiny Coromandel Club was an absolute delight. She described her show, My Name is Moana, as being about our waterways- and indeed, we were drawn into a passion for protecting our waterways – and our land, and our […]
Tanya’s year of studying Te Reo Maori
December 19, 2016 by 2 Comments
Nga mihi matakuikui ki a koutou, I have just emerged from a year-long immersion course in Te Ara Reo Maori at the Lincoln Road campus of Te Wānanga o Aotearoa, exhausted and elated, appreciative of my new understandings, skills and inspiration. I’ve been immersed in, but also “on the edge of”another way of seeing the […]
Charmaine’s year of unexpected activities…
December 19, 2016 by 1 Comment
Some of my time-consuming activities this year have arisen in the course of local community commitments; others have been projects which have emerged through meeting interesting people further afield. Here are some examples of both… Earthsong Centre Trust constitution and new reporting requirements At meetings of the Earthsong Centre Trust, which I chaired 2015-16, it became […]
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