Full project

Metabolic health issues such as Type 2 diabetes and obesity are increasingly prevalent in our community, in keeping with worldwide trends. There is now a considerable amount of evidence that events during pregnancy and early childhood influence the risk of metabolic disease in later life by affecting glucose and fat metabolism and possibly appetite regulation. To try to prevent later metabolic disease, we therefore need to look at practical ways to intervene in early life to decrease these risks.

Tāmaki Herenga Waka is the over-arching theme for a series of activities aimed at building a positive Māori consciousness and a more dynamic and connected community in Auckland City. The principle of the proverb dating from 1840 behind the name “Tāmaki herenga waka” (Tāmaki moored canoes) was to see an end of tribal conflicts in the region and that Auckland City would be reputable as a safe haven for all people to commune as one. It is on this basis that the project’s team has embraced the name for this series of initiatives.

Agroecology, grounded in local knowledge and communities, applies ecological principles to agricultural systems. Indigenous agroecology is an opportunity for mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge) and totohungatanga Moriori (Moriori knowledge) to inform and generate innovation in farm practices. It focuses on guardianship of the land and the waters that flow through it, based on the traditional and contemporary experience of Māori and Moriori agricultural practitioners.

The Hauraki Māori Trust Board and the Cawthron Institute collaborated in this research project which stemmed from a spate of dog deaths on the beaches of Tikapa Moana (the Hauraki Gulf) in August 2009.  The dogs died from the poison tetrodotoxin (TTX) and this poison was present in sea slugs that had washed up on beaches. It became apparent research was needed to determine the poisoning risk associated with kaimoana from Tikapa Moana.