Te Karanga o te Whenua - The Call of the Land

Bridging generations through whenua, wisdom, and the journey home Tūpuna fed, mokopuna led Jade Gibson, Natasha Koia, Kiri Nehua, and Bonny Hatami come together in a powerful roundtable exploring intergenerational journeys of reconnecting to whenua Māori. Bridging different perspectives and lived experiences, their kōrero reflects on belonging grounded in whakapapa, systems shaped by colonisation,...

Bridging mātauranga Māori and Western science through whenua, listening, and belonging Jade Gibson (Ngāti Porou, Te Aitanga a Mate) is a rangatahi voice, environmental researcher, and host of Te Karanga o Te Whenua . Returning home to Whareponga, she learnt to listen to the call of the land through living on and being with the whenua. Her kōrero shows that reconnection is a journey of listening, a...

Lisa Warbrick (Te Āti Haunui-a-Pāpārangi, Ngāti Maru, Ngāti Awa, Ngāti Rangitihi) and Tracey Bayliss (He tangata tiriti nō Aotearoa) are co-founders of TakiToa, a kaupapa Māori-led kai sovereignty endeavour. Through a mobile meat processing model, they enable kai to move directly from paddock to plate. Their kōrero builds on earlier episodes by showing how reconnecting to whenua Māori can extend i...

Theresa Thornton ( Ngāti Pāhauwera ) is a trustee and kaitiaki restoring whenua and wai in Raupunga for over two decades. Working with limited resources, she has led fencing and farming efforts, a papakāinga development, and a long fight for clean water. Her kōrero highlights the power of whānau to step up when systems fall short, and create their own solutions to restore whenua, wai, and communit...

Activating whenua through governance, trust‑building, and long‑term collective vision Roma Balzer (Ngāti Ranginui, Ngāi Te Rangi, Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Apakura, Te Arawa) is a trustee and governance strategist supporting whenua and whānau in the Waikato. Stepping into governance with little experience, she helped transform a dormant trust into an active, purpose-driven collective. Her kōrero builds...

Reclaiming the right to live on ancestral whenua through grief, justice, and practice Āwhina Motutere (Ngāi Te Rangi, Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Pāhauwera) is a kaitiaki living off-grid with her whānau on ancestral whenua in Tauranga Moana. After returning home and fighting a five-year battle to occupy her land, her kōrero extends the series into the realities of systems and access. She shows that rec...

Healing whenua and whānau through returning to and restoring the maunga Hoki atu ki tōu maunga kia purea ai e koe ki ngā hau o Tāwhirimātea Return to your mountain to be cleansed by the winds of Tāwhirimātea Kiri Nehua (Te Rarawa, Te Aupōuri, Ngāpuhi) is a scholar, farmer, and kaimanaaki of Hūruiki Maunga in Te Tai Tokerau. After repurchasing their ancestral maunga, she and her husband led a journ...

Returning home to whenua as a process of reclaiming belonging, identity, and everyday kaitiakitanga Natasha Koia ( Ngāti Porou, Te Aitanga a Mate, Te Whānau a Rākairoa, Te Whānau a Tāpuhi ) is a kaitiaki and systems-thinker living in Makarika, Tairāwhiti (Gisborne), where she and her whānau built their whare on ancestral whenua beside Rongoitekai Marae. Opening the series, her kōrero is shaped by...