Nau mai, Haere mai!

Wai Ora River Care’s vision is to return the mauri back into all surrounding waterways and wetlands of Te Nehenehenui. In doing this, we can empower our iwi, hapū and whānau to be Kaitiaki of the Taiao.

As Kaitiaki of the Taiao, we believe it is our innate responsibility to not only develop a deeper connection with the land but help others to do so as well. By shining a light on the beauty of our native rākau and their many other uses, we will inspire people to return to and nurture the Taiao.

‘Ka ora te whenua, ka ora te tangata’

When we support our whenua to prosper, we can help our people to prosper and reconnect to their natural heritage as tangata whenua. The work we are putting in now is to lay down a foundation for all of our generations of the future.

The dream is for our mokopuna and all of their tamariki to be able to experience the same connection to our whenua as our tupuna did. To feel the empowerment of knowing where you belong and being able to care for it is like no other.

Ngā Mahi

We locally source all of our seed and grow them at our very own māra. Our mahi entails the following:

Eco-sourcing seed to sow
Prepare seed for sowing
Seed germination
Propagation
Site preparation
Planting rākau
Maintenance rounds

Our Whānau

Ngā Rākau

All trees and grasses that we grow have been eco-sourced within the Waikato region

We eco-source our rākau because maintaining their whakapapa increases success rates and they have proven ability to flourish in Te Nehenehenui. We choose rākau that are able to increase the natural biodiversity, withstand flooding and help filter sediment that contaminate our waterways.

On top of this our tūpuna were amazing at utilizing them for their other uses.

Check out our rākau to find out more.