Using cultural keystones species as a focus for restoration 

Project Leader(s) Dr Gaya Gnanalingam (UoO) Project Team Mr Brendan Flack, Mr Adam Brook, Miss Louise Bennett-Jones  Abalone are a prime example of a family of species (Haliotidae) subject to serial depletion as a result of fishing pressure worldwide. In Aotearoa New Zealand, pāua (blackfoot abalone, Haliotis iris) are no exception with a number of […]

Māra moana: Restoring the foundations of flourishing coastal ecosystems 

Project Leader(s) Dr Matthew Desmond (UoO) Project Team Duong Lee (UoO)  Kelp forest ecosystems, specifically those dominated by Macrocystis pyrifera form the backbone of many of New Zealand’s most productive and culturally important fisheries. M. pyrifera is known by many names around the world but for the purpose of this project we will use the […]

Falafolaloa: spreading the mats of welcome and belonging 

Project Leader(s) Associate Professor Rosalina Richards (UoO) Project Team Dr Troy Ruhe, Talai Mapusua, Michael Lameta, Professor Chris Hepburn   Pacific models of health emphasise the importance of the natural environment for well-being, with indigenous Pacific communities intrinsically linked with their environmental context. While, as Pacific peoples living in Aotearoa, we no longer have access to […]