Te Hiringa o te Taiao (Kaupae 4) | NZ Certificate in Māori Environment Practices (Level 4)

Summary

Toitū te Whenua, Toiora te Tangata

Traditionally, Māori believe there is a deep kinship between humans and the natural world. This connection is expressed through kaitiakitanga – a way of managing the environment. Today there is growing interest in kaitiakitanga as iwi restore their environment and their culture.

Māori science is a real thing and there is definitely a māori way of looking at the world. When researching environmental issues it will benefit everyone if we have a shared understanding of what Mātauranga looks like. Mātauranga Māori draws from and reinforces the holistic connection that Māori have to the land and sea. It embodies our inherent connections to the ecosystem, spiritual beings and other living species we share the land and sea with. Without a sustainable connection to the land and sea we could potentially lose everything that forms the basis of our individual and collective identities. The value of this programme lies in the processes you will follow. You will learn to use a māori framework approach to investigating and solving problems. If you are a non-māori this programme will provide you with some tools for meaningfully engaging with Tangata Whenua, if you are Māori then view this process as a validation of your world-view.