10 June 2016

Mauri o te Moana award winners announced

Three environmental leaders with a deep commitment to the wellbeing of the Manukau Harbour are recipients of the first Mauri o te Moana Awards, revealed today at the Manukau Harbour Forum Symposium, in Māngere.

Every June and November since 1961, a group of volunteers from BirdsNZ South Auckland Region has undertaken counts of shorebirds within the whole of the Manukau Harbour.

The Waiuku Estuary Restoration Trust - affectionately known as ‘the mudlarks’ for the amount of time they spend in the mudflats of the Manukau - cleared 9.1 hectares (900 tonnes) of mangroves between 2010 and 2013. Last year, another 3.8 hectares was removed, with the trust having a consent to do 30 years and 75-hectares more of removal work.

The Clendon Residents Group have done everything possible to restore the natural balance of land and water by picking up rubbish, weeding, and planting the Puhinui Foreshore, from Pitt Ave to the Browns Road area. In four years, this volunteer group has cleared 6.5 tonnes of rubbish.

The Mauri o te Moana Awards were formed to recognise the work of iwi, community groups, organisations and individuals, who have helped to protect and restore the mauri, or life force, of the Manukau Harbour over the last three years.

The Mauri o te Moana Awards were presented at the inaugural Manukau Harbour Forum Symposium, which was attended by about 130 people today (10 June).

WaterCare chief executive Raveen Jaduram also announced that the organisation is funding a three-year research programme by the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA), which will establish a coupled hydrodynamic and water-quality model of the Manukau Harbour.

The model will provide much-needed information on how nutrients enter the harbour, and how they subsequently move around the harbour and the lower levels of the foodweb.

The symposium’s 16 speakers shared information, experiences and knowledge of key issues and outcomes that have the potential to return the Manukau Harbour to good health.

Each of the recipients received a copy of an original artwork by mana whenua artist Charlotte Graham. This artwork was also displayed as part of an exhibition of art about the harbour, curated for the symposium.

ENDS

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