Jade Maguire Photo: RNZ / Cosmo Kentish-Barnes
A large nursery is flourishing in the old gardens at the back of the meeting house at Takutai o te Titi Marae at Colac Bay in Southland.
It was established in 2017 by Riverton man Jade Maguire who works with the community to grow thousands of plants each year, which are then used in local restoration projects.
"Everything that we do is guided by Tikanga Māori and by our Mātauranga, with the idea that if people understand how important it is to Māori, maybe they'll be able to uptake some of our values when it comes to being Kaitiaki," he says.
Currently Jade is working with farmers from the Pourakino Catchment Group to improve water quality on farms by increasing native plantings along waterways.
