Navigators update
Haere tonu, the value of persistence
Pena ka haere tonu, a te wā ka taea, ka mau. You will get there if you just keep going.
The third annual report of the WMP is a beauty. It is a visually pleasing testimony to this whakatauki about keeping going. I encourage you to have a read of this report online, where the images tell layers of the stories. For every pipi (the name the WMP calls its multiple projects) there are layers of work underway to make the pipi successful. Success of course means different things to different people.
For the WMP it is about bringing the 9 commitments agreed in 2020 to life as action pathways to protect and regenerate Waiheke’s marine environment.
The diagram below names the 9 commitments. In the diagram, the shades of blue depict the depth and quantity of actions. The darker the blue, the more activity has happened and the lighter the blue shows room for more effort.
When I read this annual report, I reflected on how different things can be with perspective. When your focus is singular and short term, things can seem very daunting. Extending that focus to a whole system and to a longer term brings space to breathe, to prototype, to practice and to have fun. Going long term can be liberating for giving things a go and for sticking with them for longer.
When an idea is proposed in the WMP, the steering group considers how it might contribute to the nine commitments. Each stone thrown in the water creates ripples and no-one can know what outcomes might be generated from those ripples. Not every idea has to turn into a full pipi, with a project brief, fundraising goals, budget and specific outcomes and not every pipi has to keep going for years. The WMP movement provides the flexibility to take different approaches to the ongoing generation of ideas.
The WMP now has a few pipi that have been running for three or more years. This gives not only valuable local data series but also ongoing opportunities to do things better each year. My daughter’s school has a sign that reads “If you are not learning, you are not living”. Well, the many people connected with and participating in WMP activities are definitely living and learning together to make a difference for the health of the moana. They are embodying optimism and perseverance, traits so very much needed in our world at this time.
Looking ahead into 2024, the WMP is continuing the above described annual pipi that includes the Kōura dive survey, Kelp Gardeners, Regen Dive Programme and Beach Cleans. The WMP is also extending into new ideas such as taking time to deeply observe kokowhāwhā / anchovies for their part in the intricate marine ecosystem and teaming up with MPI/Biosecurity New Zealand to raise knowledge of marine pests and diseases.
The WMP also continues to support and collaborate with others who are so courageously taking on the task of protecting and regenerating Tīkapa Moana. We draw your attention to the hugely important application by Ngāti Pāoa, Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki, Ngāti Tamaterā and Ngāti Rehua Ngātiwai ki Aotea who have applied to extend current to extend current rāhui/temporary fisheries closures in the Hauraki Gulf at Waiheke Island, Umupuia Beach and Te Mātā and Waipatukahu. Please read details later in this newsletter and make a submission in support.
In ending this reflection, I invite you to reach out to team@waihekemarineproject.org with any ideas you might have for protecting and regenerating the island’s marine environment.
By Miranda Cassidy-O’Connell
Kaiwhakatere / Navigator