Exploring the Way Around Our Freshwater World

In a presentation at the Te Wai Māori Freshwater Fisheries Conference 2019, Maramataka expert Rereata Makiha delved into the intricate relationship between world views, tohu (signs), and resilience, emphasising the importance of understanding and caring for our freshwater systems.

The rights for this informative discussion have been published by Referencing Hub media, providing a valuable resource for those seeking to deepen their engagement with the health of the environment.

To further this endeavour, the Ministry for the Environment has created an interactive storymap titled "Navigating our freshwater environment". This browser-based activity invites users to follow the journey of a tuna (longfin eel) throughout its life cycle, learning about the challenges it faces and the key science and Māori concepts that underpin its existence.

The tuna is not only a taonga species (treasured item) but also an indicator species in Aotearoa New Zealand, offering insights into the health of our freshwater systems.

The storymap is centred around the longfin eel's journey from the mountains to the sea, exploring data and findings from the environmental report, Our freshwater 2023. It highlights the pressures our activities put on freshwater systems and their impacts on the things we value, such as the economy, recreation, and gathering food.

In addition to the storymap, the Ministry for the Environment has also released another interactive resource, "Navigating our climate, our biodiversity, our future", to support the environmental report, Our atmosphere and climate 2023.

For those seeking more detailed information, the New Zealand Landcover Explorer and Fish Passage Assessment Tool are additional sources for datasets. Stats NZ provides a wealth of water quality indicators for cultural health index, lake water quality, river water quality, wetland area, and groundwater quality.

By the end of these interactive experiences, users should be able to discuss how this information can be used to protect, restore, or care for freshwater systems, fostering a deeper understanding of our environment and our role within it. The storymap promotes understanding of concepts such as ki uta ki tai (from the mountains to the sea), wai ora (healthy water), habitat, life cycles, tuna heke (migration), maramataka (Māori lunar calendar), and mahinga kai (customary food gathering places).

In essence, these resources offer a unique and engaging way to navigate and deepen our engagement with the health of the environment, providing valuable insights into the challenges facing our freshwater systems and the steps we can take to protect and preserve them for future generations.