Maria Rodgers
(Re)Planting te taiao in urban Aotearoa New Zealand
In Aotearoa New Zealand, past and ongoing injustices have disconnected Māori from their land. Māori see themselves reflected in the landscape and the environment; te taiao is part of their identity. Te taiao and therefore aspects of Māori identity have mostly been erased from urban areas through colonisation, despite it being a treasure for the first peoples of Aotearoa. Honouring Te Tiriti o Waitangi requires that taonga are protected yet many plants growing in urban areas represent the colonial situation rather than celebrating the Indigenous.
Many native plants that are present in urban environments are from other parts of Aotearoa and were not naturally occurring in the past where they now grow. Making pre-colonial te taiao visible, alongside the well accepted practices that acknowledge built and predominantly colonial heritage, will potentially protect and celebrate the taonga of te taiao.
Maria is a PhD candidate in landscape architecture and has taught for six years in the landscape architecture programme at Te Herenga Waka. Her love of plants brought her to study landscape architecture. She particularly enjoys teaching planting design and seeing students’ relationship with plants develop.
The threat of climate change has led to urgent calls for environmental action which will likely include increased urban vegetation. Through working with mana whenua, Taranaki Whānui ki Te Ūpoko o Te Ika, Maria’s research seeks to evaluate the potential additional benefits of this planting. The overarching research question for her thesis is: In Aotearoa New Zealand what is the impact and benefit of prioritizing plants in the urban realm that were naturally occurring in the past?
Supervisors
Professor Joanna Merwood-Salisbury, Dr. Ocean Mercier and Associate Professor Maibritt Pedersen-Zari, AUT