Speaker Emerge from the Past - Voice Rises from the Remnants
Want to peek into the past? well, check this out!
How the heck do you find out what a roto (lake) looked like a millennium ago? With the help of the puehu, of course! Puehu refers to the dust, silt, and pollen that has gradually seeped into the lake over time.
Time traveling - Lake Moawhitu
Professor Rewi Newnham, a palynologist (someone who studies ancient pollen), took us on a journey through time and gave us a glimpse into te ao tuatahi (the time before humans arrived).
Lakes380 is on a mission to get the scoop on 10% of Aotearoa's 3,800 lakes, all sizing about a rugby field (1 hectare) or more. The Lakes380 bunch scooped up sediment cores from deep within each lake. You see, whatever goes down in or near the lake, leaves a trace in the sediment. As the sediment gradually builds up millimeter by millimeter, it creates an environmental history of the lake and its surroundings.
Lake Moawhitu
Located on Rangitoto ki te Tonga D'Urville Island in the Marlborough Sounds, Lake Moawhitu was once a valuable source of mahinga kai (food) for local iwi Ngāti Koata. Consulting mātauranga (knowledge) and oral histories from Ngāti Koata, gives us a picture of the roto (lake) and its catchment area from when their tūpuna (ancestors) moved in. Data from sediment cores supports these oral histories and helps us go even further back, exploring the period before humans inhabited Aotearoa and the region around Lake Moawhitu.
The historical data discovered in the lake sediment cores have proved to be a goldmine! They show us what the lake may have looked like, including the vegetation surrounding it and the animals dwelling in it, and the oral histories helped us understand the importance of the lake to Ngāti Koata.
The lake health revival - Lake Moawhitu
The mauri (health) of Lake Moawhitu has taken a nosedive due to significant changes in its catchment. Ngāti Koata Trust and the Department of Conservation teamed up to improve the water quality and restore the lake ecosystem. This adheres to the concept of te mana o te wai - water has its own spirit, and if we take care of it, it will take care of us.
Te mana o te wai embodies the idea that the first right of water (lakes, rivers, and streams as well as the ocean) belongs to the water itself. Protecting the health and wellbeing of water is paramount for all living things and must come before other concerns.
The Lakes380 team is providing crucial data to assist these restoration efforts. The data from the sediment cores revealed that centuries before human arrival, podocarp (rimu, kahikatea, and mataī) and beech forest were abundant in the region. Flax pollen grains were also discovered in the cores, and local mātauranga (knowledge) identified the species as wharariki. The insights from the past form the basis of an accurate (and hopefully effective) restoration plan.
Healing Lake Moawhitu together
Ngāti Koata Trust and the Department of Conservation collaborated on a restorative project for Lake Moawhitu.
He reo nō te puehu - A voice from the dust, a browser-based virtual experience created by Ngāti Koata Trust and Lakes380, is a tool that allows you to explore four virtual 360-degree worlds: Pre Human, Māori Settlement, Present Day, and Future 2122. Each world offers videos, pop-ups with images and facts, and immersive experiences in the roto (lake) and on the whenua (land). The virtual worlds vividly depict the changes that have occurred in the lake and its catchment, but they also instill optimism about renewing the area and its links with mahinga kai (food sources).
- To uncover the past, science in the form of palynology, a branch of environmental science focusing on the study of ancient pollen, offers valuable insights.
- In the quest for knowledge about Aotearoa's lakes, Lakes380, with a focus on health-and-wellness and education-and-self-development, is striving to analyze sediment cores from 10% of Aotearoa's 3,800 lakes, enhancing our understanding of their environmental history.
- Environmental science is integral to the mission of Lakes380, as they strive to promote sustainable living and the preservation of the environment.
- As part of their lifestyle improvement initiatives, Ngāti Koata Trust and the Department of Conservation are working together to restore the health and well-being of Lake Moawhitu, embodying the principle of te mana o te wai, where water has its own spirit and its health should come before other concerns.
- The Lakes380 team's data, drawn from sediment cores, is helping to create an accurate and effective restoration plan for Lake Moawhitu, drawing from the knowledge of the past for a brighter future in the realm of home-and-garden and environmental-science.
