Bringing Nature to the Forefront: Calls to Action from the Frontline

*The views expressed by this Rangatahi member are their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or positions of the organisation(s) they represent.

Name

Hana Harris

Department of Conservation

DOC ranger

Kaitiaki-Kanorau Koiora, Biodiversity Ranger

Your whakapapa / background

Her iwi Ngāpuhi

Hapū: Ngāti Toro and Ngāti Hao

From: Puketi Forrest

The Aotearoa Circle is focused on systems change.  You are someone with her hands literally on the ground.  What did you learn about systems change in your time as a RAP member?

It gave me quite a lot of inspiration to know there are people who aren’t hands on but are trying to push for change. You don’t hear enough as someone working on the ground about those types of things. Being a part of RAP has brought up a conversation and I wish that more companies and organisations and departments would let their staff know what is happening behind the scenes and that they are trying to be a voice for the environment and for staff who are working out there. 

Also it feels like we are pushing from the bottom – the top needs to be bolder I think, the government needs to be bolder if they want real change. If we keep pushing and putting on pressure, maybe we will get there in the end. 

It was also good hearing that companies are engaging with Māori – some are doing it better than others. Involvement is a lot better than just engagement.  Involvement is more than a tick box exercise. We have to build Māori properly into those conversations where you are actively working together from the start. They need to be right there, side by side at an equal level.  I notice we are using Māori words and tikanga, but we have to follow it through all the way, not just do a tick box exercise.

So much has changed in Aotearoa in the last four years.  With Covid and all the changes since in the political and geopolitical landscape and with climate change and nature degradation speeding up, how are you feeling right now?

I don’t watch the news as much now days, but it can be overwhelming, especially when you are younger and you are online and you immediately have everyone’s opinions about everything and you are hearing about everything that’s happening around the world.  So yes, overwhelmed, anxious and quite angry as well with what has happened in New Zealand as a young wahine Māori. 

But on the flip side you do have young people, both Māori and pakeha taking to the streets to make their voices heard, so there’s always that hope there as well. 

So, I do feel quite overwhelmed sometimes but also really hopeful.  I have a lot of trust in the younger generation.

Where does your love of nature come from?  And how bad is the situation out there in New Zealand’s wild places?

Where I grew up, I was spending a lot of time in the bush as a kid with my dad.  Also I have a sense of responsibility which you tend to have if you are tangata whenua and you come from a specific place and you can see what condition the forest is in.

I don’t think the average New Zealander knows how bad it is out there.  I wish we had the resources to communicate things more easily, efficiently and effectively.  It’s not till you get into the forest and see things are pretty bad, like there’ s no understory in places and there’s goats and pigs.  It used to be so thick you couldn’t get into the forest and now you just breeze through.

Unless you’re living it, you won’t be aware. I don’t blame people for not being aware if it’s not easy to access that information.

So as a person at the frontline of the fight to preserve New Zealand’s natural capital, what is your message to people who are reading this from an office or boardroom – what is one thing you want them to do or think about in 2024?

The best thing for anyone to do for their mental health and also the environment, is just to get out in nature. It doesn’t have to be extravagant either – just go outside for a walk or just sit down in nature and take it all in. If you’re in it more, you’re going to be more interested in looking after it. 

There is an app people can try which might be helpful called iNaturalist. If you want to take a look at a type of tree or fungus you can chuck it up on the app and find out what it is.

The other practical thing I’d like them to do is be aware of the threats to our forest, particularly kauri dieback. If you are in the forest, please take precautions, follow the instructions you see and clean your shoes.

And finally, one major issue we are having in Northland is dogs that are not under control or are roaming and killing kiwi. Any dog of any size can kill a kiwi, even if it is cute and fluffy. People are shocked at how fast an attack and kill happens. Getting to know your dog and learning how to keep dogs under control is the best thing dog owners can do for kiwi. And please, if it says no dogs allowed, it means no dogs allowed, for this very reason.