Whanganui river project weaves people together
An iwi-led initiative aimed at restoring the health of Aotearoa’s longest awa has woven in Māori Trustee-administered whenua, and the kaimahi that care for it.
The Mouri Tūroa project, led by Whanganui River post-settlement governance entity Ngā Tāngata Tiaki o Whanganui, aims to install 290 kilometres of waterway fencing, undertake pest and weed control, and develop native plant nurseries to eco-source 600,000 plants for riparian areas.
The Māori Trustee administers 32 whenua Māori blocks in the whaitua, from the headwaters to the mouth of the Whanganui.
So, when Ngā Tāngata Tiaki o Whanganui secured Jobs for Nature funding for their project in 2022, Te Tumu Paeroa kaimahi jumped at the chance to work with them – and landowners and lessees – to improve the blocks.
In the last financial year alone, 12,940 metres of fencing was installed and 24,000 native trees, shrubs and grasses have been planted on Māori Trustee-administered blocks.
Mātanga Tuarā Kawea | Trust Specialist Novena McGuckin says working in partnership with iwi leaders, marae committees and other Māori landowner organisations like Morikaunui and Ātihau-Whanganui Incorporations has been a great process for the team.
“I think being part of Mouri Tūroa encouraged collaboration with iwi – it’s really important to collaborate, because we all want the same thing,” she says.
Novena says it gave the team a chance to build stronger relationships with all who work to protect the awa and its tributaries and talk openly about the shared aspirations and goals they all had.
The first Mouri Tūroa-Māori Trustee project kicked off in 2023, and the last was finished in early 2025. In that time, there have been Mouri Turoa-funded improvements on 13 blocks – this includes more than 23,000 metres of fencing. In some cases earthworks and culverting, paid for with trust funds, was undertaken to prepare for fencing and planting.
A highlight for the team was being able to give some aroha to blocks near Taumarunui, says Novena.
“Those are the blocks that because of where they are situated, out of Taumarunui, have historically been left out. There hasn’t been much available for them.”
If a whenua Māori block isn’t leased or doesn’t have any other sort of trust income, explains Novena, there is usually no way to make the improvements – but when there is an opportunity for external funding to do so, it can make a big impact.
While the project is aimed at mitigating soil erosion, improving water quality, and enhancing biodiversity within the Whanganui River catchment, it’s also about reconnecting uri with the awa and traditional practices, and reclaiming tikanga, Novena says.
Further riparian planting is planned for winter 2025 with funding secured by Ngā Tāngata Tiaki o Whanganui. This will include around 31,000 plants allocated to whenua Māori administered by the Māori Trustee.
Pictured top: Whenua Māori landowners, a lessee and Te Tumu Paeroa kaimahi check in on riparian fencing and planting on a tributary to the Whanganui River, south of Taumarunui. The fencing was funded by Mouri Tūroa, in partnership with Ngā Tāngata Tiaki o Whanganui.