Healthy Families Rotorua

Tērā a Matariki ka rewa i te pae, nau mai haere mai ngā hua o te tau hou. Tākiri mai te ata, kōrihi mai te manu, he tino awatea. Ka ao, ka ao, ka awatea. Ko te tangi mai rā a te kō kō Korimako. I te ata tū, tū ka taka tū!

The appearance of Matariki on the horizon signals the arrival of the new year. As the morning breaks and the birdsong fills the air, a new day dawns.

As we head into the New Year, we’re excited to introduce the updated Te Arawa Maramataka, a traditional Māori lunar calendar rich in cultural wisdom and knowledge.

The latest maramataka is now available on the Nga Pataka Korero o Te Arawa website link here https://ngapatakakorerootearawa.org/te-maramataka-o-te-arawa-2 We encourage everyone to download a copy to help guide us environmentally, spiritually, and physically through te Tau Hou.

This year's Matariki theme, ‘Heri Kai—Bringer of Food’, encourages us to observe our ancestral traditions and practices, including following a maramataka, for optimal results in our traditional endeavours. The new maramataka provides a tool to apply the knowledge and history of our tīpuna and share these teachings with our tamariki.

Te Maramataka o Te Arawa — Ngā Pātaka Kōrero o Te Arawa Te Maramataka o Te Arawa 2024-2025Ka whakatau tēnei maramataka mā Te Arawa ko ngā mata o te marama me ngā whetū mai i te tau 2024 ki te tau 2024.  Nā ngā tirohanga o wētehi mātanga ā-rohe ‘Ngā Pātaka Kōrero o Te Arawa’ kua tāpirihia ngā aranga o wētehi whetū me te kāhui o Mata...

At our team’s recent tukutuku wānanga, we created a tukutuku panel with guidance from our workmate/master weaver, Ross Wesche. Our creation depicts Te Motu-tapu-a-Tinirau (Mokoia Island), Te Rotorua-nui-a-Kahumatamomoe (Lake Rotorua), Waikimihia (Hinemoa’s bath), the kūmara, and Ngā Whetū o Matariki (The stars of Matariki).

https://healthyfamiliesrotorua.org.nz/while-creating-a-tukutuku-panel-to-celebrate-matariki-and-rotorua-the-healthy-families-rotorua-team-connected-with-their-tipuna-and-reinforced-unity-within-themselves/

This year’s Matariki theme is Matariki Heri Kai – the Feast of Matariki. Kai brings us together, reflecting the unique places we come from. At the weekend, Piri got on board the waka with Toi Tangata’s Ranginui Rikirangi-Thomas, his father Piki Thomas, and son Tūtemaruwehi to gather kai for Matariki feasts. We’re inspired by the Thomas whānau’s dedication to tikanga and their intergenerational mātauranga.

Matariki Heri Kai - Healthy Families Rotorua With Matariki Heri Kai focusing on the Matariki feast, Healthy Families Rotorua dived into its ecosystem to identify individuals with the skills and understanding of tikanga who help make the hakari possible.

We’re thrilled to introduce our new Rautaki Māori, Hiko o Te Rangi Curtis 🙌🏽🙌🏽💚💚

Kia ora tātou, ko Hiko o Te Rangi Curtis tōku ingoa. Nō Te Rotoiti i kite ai e Ihenga, nō te awa o Utuhina, ka mutu, nō te maunga whakahī o Taranaki ahau. Tupu ake ai wōku huruhuru ki konei ki Rotorua waihoki ki Rotoiti. Ki ngā kaokao o tōku whare tūpuna o Rakeiao. Ki reira whairo ai te reo Māori ki tōku arero me wōna mātauranga. He kai nakawhiti ano hoki ahau, mai i te pakeketanga o te iwa i timata ai taku whai atu i tēnei ara o te hākinakina. Nā tēnei momo aroha ki taku hākinakina me taku ūpoko māro i riro ai ahau ki te tūranga tuatoru o te ao mō te pakeketanga o te 16/17 ki te CrossFit Games. Inaianei kua pakeke ahau, e whai tonu ana i taua wawata o ngā whiringa whāiti o te ao mō te nakawhiti.

I’m grateful to be a part of the Healthy Families Rotorua whānau. I’m excited to be in this field of mahi as I can apply more of te maramataka into our community and help our whānau physically and mentally.

We're thrilled to welcome Lois Swinton (Te Whānau-ā-Apanui, Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Awa, Tapuika, Tūhourangi, Ngāti Whakaue, Ngāitai, Tūwharetoa) to our team as our newest systems innovator. She'll be taking the lead on our Kai kaupapa, which is fabulous because we have lots of exciting kai initiatives coming up!

Raised on the East Coast, she learned to hunt, dive, fish, and care for the whānau farm and maara from a young age, so we know she'll bring something special to her role. Lois also has a Bachelor of Social Work and is studying towards her midwifery tohu.

She says she's excited to be working with our Te Arawa community, hapū, and iwi collectively to create and achieve locally owned visions, goals, and solutions in the kai sovereignty space 💚💚💚

Today we honour members of the Australian & New Zealand Army Corps.

This beautiful couple, Huru Kaka & Elizabeth Royle Kaka, are the cherished parents of our manager Jenny Kaka-Scott ♥️

Ka maumahara tonu tātou ki a rātou. We will remember them.

Congratulations to Megan and our former teammate Te Taiawatea who graduated with their Masters in Māori & Indigenous Leadership in Ōtautahi last week.

Ko te manu e kai ana i te miro nōna te ngahere.
Ko te manu e kai ana i te mātauranga nōna te ao!

The heart of creating sustainable change is building high trust and meaningful relationships across the community. A community maara in Kaharoa is connecting people to Papatūānuku and encouraging a deeper understanding of sustainable living practices.

Creating sustainable change - Healthy Families Rotorua A community maara in Kaharoa is connecting people to Papatūānuku and encouraging a deeper understanding of sustainable living practices.

We're in the early stages of forming a collective with local iwi and hapū to spearhead the cultivation of food forests at rural marae, kura, and kohanga reo.

Not only will this increase kai security within the community utilising a kai sovereignty approach, but it also has the potential to utilise local mātauranga in the process.

Community food forest - Healthy Families Rotorua Healthy Families Rotorua is in the early stages of forming a collective with Ngāti Kea Ngāti Tuara, to spearhead the cultivation of food forests at Horohoro marae, kura, and kohanga reo.

Last year, we helped grow and distribute over 1,000 kūmara tupu throughout Te Arawa. Apumoana Marae was given some hutihuti and recently harvested this beauty!

Dallas Te Aonui says growing this variety has been very special.

"Reflecting on the kōrero of Whakaotirangi enhanced the importance of kaitiakitanga of our Tupuna kai. Special moments were had while growing our hutihuti - being able to share kōrero of its origin, connecting to our elements, and re-introducing myself to our Atua," she says.

After successfully propagating over 1,000 kūmara shoots, we helped distribute the tupu throughout Te Arawa. One of the recipients had been estranged from his whānau for years due to his battles with drug and alcohol addiction. He says after rehab and recovery, the tupu have given him a sense of responsibility beyond his healing journey.

Healing through kūmara - Healthy Families Rotorua Healthy Families Rotorua has embarked on a transformative journey of kai sovereignty, digging into the traditional cultivation and preservation of kūmara.

It has been a wonderful week for strengthening relationships, building connections, and being inspired!

On Monday, Megan met with other communications specialists from throughout our rohe to encourage closer relationships and future collaboration under a Te Arawa Communications Collective.

Yesterday, we received a visit from Healthy Families Te Ngira manager Mira Martin, who brought over her new team members Alkana and Whitu for whakawhanaungatanga and idea sharing. It’s always a buzz to hang out with Mira and we love her new crew too! We look forward to seeing awesome mahi from our mates in Kirikiriroa.

Today, we had a tour of Kaharoa School’s food forest. The joint venture with Kai Rotorua, Backyard Paradise, and Kaharoa School aligns with a kai sovereignty kaupapa we're about to embark on with a local marae and kura ... but more will be revealed soon 😉

The tour ended with a visit to a beautiful organic garden further up the road. Amongst the fabulous array of kai, owners Amir & Astrid are growing kūmara. We'll share more about this soon too. Watch this space 💚💚💚

Through kapa haka competition our whakapapa is transmitted, maintained, and celebrated; and our physical and mental resilience is challenged but overcome.

Kia kaha to Te Raipine and our whānau taking part in the Te Arawa Kapa Haka Regionals over the next couple of days. We’re so proud of you all and look forward to seeing you on stage.

Kia toto te rau! 🙌🏽💚

Over the past couple of years, we’ve been reconnecting with traditional Māori practices to enable food sovereignty within our communities.

Throughout our journey, we’ve had the privilege of working with Kai Rotorua, Te Arawa Whānau Ora Collective, Toi Tangata, iwi, marae, and other changemakers within our local kai system.

Our collaborative efforts were captured in the Māori Television documentary series, Home, Land & Sea, which was aired last night 💚🍠🍠

MĀORI+ | Whakaata Māori (Māori Television)

Making the most of the last days of summer, our lead systems innovator Pirihira Whata and Toi te Ora's Meriana Haldane took their mahi outdoors. The pair is in the final throes of refining and finalising the vision, mission, values and guiding principles for the Rotorua Kai Collective 💚

We were thrilled to be part of this year’s Te Arawa Kaumātua Olympics held at the Energy Events Centre on Friday. We collaborated with Te Arawa Whānau Ora Collective and reached out to organisations within our eco-system to recruit volunteers for the event.

We thank Te Papa Takaro o Te Arawa, Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Pikiao, Maketu Health and Social Services, Poutiri Wellness Centre, Manaaki Ora Trust, and Korowai Aroha for responding to our call.

Congratulations to Dr Laurie Morrison and her Oranga Tinana o Ue crew for delivering this amazing all-inclusive event for our Kaumātua 💚💚

Volunteering for Kaumātua - Healthy Families Rotorua Healthy Families Rotorua leveraged its network to help ensure the triumphant ex*****on of this year's Te Arawa Kaumātua Olympics, drawing on the collective power of community support.

Yesterday we shared our last moments with Mariana before she joined the team at Te Papa Takaro o Te Arawa. We’ve witnessed Mariana grow from a young university graduate to a confident up-and-coming sportswoman and leader. Her knowledge and mean guitar-playing will be missed throughout our Healthy Families Rotorua and Te Arawa Whānau Ora Collective office but we know we’ll be seeing more of her in the future as our kaupapa align. E kore ngā mihi e maroke i te rā. Haere koe i tō haerenga roa i runga i te aroha 💚💚💚

Our team prioritises workplace wellness, and today we began the first of our fortnightly Hauora Fridays, where we start our day by connecting with the taiao through physical activity. This morning we enjoyed a hīkoi in The Redwoods to uplift our wairua before diving into our work in the office 💚💚💚

From 'fragmented action and results' to 'collective action and deep and durable impact'.

We met today with representatives from Te Taura Ora o Waiariki, Rotorua Lakes Council, Te Aka Whai Ora, National Public Health Service, Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Pikiao, and Dept. Internal Affairs to formalise our Kai Collective in our efforts to transform our local kai system.

Megan paddled with the Te Arawa Whānau Ora Collective waka ama crew in the corporate event of last week's waka ama nationals at Lake Karapiro. It was great to see other organisations taking up the challenge, including others from Rotorua. Workforce well-being and relationship building come in many forms, and physical activity on the wai is always a winner!

We bid farewell to our fabulous Te Taiawatea as she embarks on a new journey. We'll miss her sharp intellect, passion for the kaupapa, little giggles, and being an overall cool person. Your impact has been immeasurable, especially in the kai and maramataka spaces and the Te Arawa Sleep Strategy. You'll be greatly missed but we wish you all the best. E te maramara o Ngāti Hinemihi, kia toi te kupu, toi te hinengaro, toi te ora, ao noa ao noa pō.

It has been a great year for our team. A highlight of 2023 was working across every key focus area of the Healthy Families NZ contract - from smoking and alcohol prevention; to the built environment, active transport and mental health resilience; from Kai to Wai. We were across all of them and found innovative ways of creating change to improve people’s health and wellbeing.

Read more here

Year of impact and collaboration - Healthy Families Rotorua Healthy Families Rotorua’s year was marked by two distinctive phases: zoning in on our impact strategy for the first six months, followed by building team capability over the next six months.

We recently surveyed Rotorua residents to understand the kai experiences of our community. Findings revealed the challenges the local community faces regarding food accessibility, affordability, and the emotions that come with these experiences.

Read more here https://healthyfamiliesrotorua.org.nz/kai-survey-results/

Survey respondents’ names went into a draw to win one of five $50 grocery vouchers. All winners have been notified.

Kai survey results - Healthy Families Rotorua In an effort to understand the kai experiences of our community, Healthy Families Rotorua conducted a survey among Rotorua residents.

We’re mapping our local food system and would love your help. Do you have a maara kai or marae garden in your community? Or is your community involved in a food initiative? Please let us know in the comment section 💚