Environmental Studies and conservation

A certificate in marae resource and environmental management

Empowering kaitiaki for the future. Grow environmental leadership for your marae.

Te Pou Hono ki Taiao is a marae-centred certificate programme of Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi designed to grow environmental knowledge and leadership within Māori communities. This course equips tauira with the skills to actively engage in te taiao (environmental) initiatives that uphold tikanga Māori and kaitiakitanga in their own kāinga or rohe.

Whether you're passionate about protecting your whenua, waterways, ngahere or ecosystems, this programme offers a culturally grounded pathway to environmental stewardship.

Why Study Te Pou Hono ki Taiao?

Community Impact
Build capacity and make a difference for your whānau, hapū, iwi, and community. Contribute to the environmental wellbeing of your marae.

Culturally Grounded Practical Learning
Maraebased learning model grounded in tikanga Māori. Learn skills that can be applied on your marae and in your community.

Self-Determined Localised Learning
Delivered by and for your own members. Learn from your own leaders, in your own spaces, at your pace focussing on places of significance to your marae or community.

Support your Marae
Protect and restore your local environment and support your marae’s sustainability goals.

What you’ll learn in Te Pou Hono ki Taiao:

• Kaitiakitanga in relation to atua Māori and the impact of colonisation and legislation on te taiao.
• Mana whenua – the significance of landmarks, protection protocols, and the interface between resource management, tikanga and kawa.
• Customary uses of native flora and fauna, ecological impacts of climate change, and project planning for environmental solutions.
• Māori connections to the ngahere and the uses of rongoā Māori.

Who should apply?

Te Pou Hono programmes are designed for collective learning by groups such as whānau, hapū, marae, iwi, kōhanga reo, kura and other Māori entities.

• This programme is ideal for:
• Whānau, hapū, and iwi members passionate about te taiao with a desire to uplift their marae and protect the environment
• Marae-based leaders and kaitiaki
• Community members wanting to lead environmental initiatives

Te Kaupapa o Te Pou Hono – Strategic Purpose

Te Pou Hono is a collective suite of marae-centred courses designed to support marae, whānau, hapū and iwi to revitalise and strengthen all aspects of Te Ao Māori through the context of their own unique local lenses. 

Each Te Pou Hono programme has its own unique theme covering various aspects of marae-centred topics.  

Te Pou Hono is intended for groups, where individuals study collectively, enabling marae to bring together their members from around the country to learn from their own collective knowledge held by whānau, hapū and iwi to ensure knowledge is transferred from one generation to the next.