New Programme Manager for Mouri Tūroa

Date Created: November 11, 2021

Born and raised in rural Raetihi, Gordon Cribb (Ngati Ruru, Ngati Hinekura and Ngati Uenuku) knew the rural manga-iti and manga-nui like the back of his hand growing up.

“Through Raetihi, we’ve got the Makotuku Stream which was basically the playground during Summer of those years,” he says. “Manganui-o-te-Ao was another playground for us kids too.”

“We all know the water quality was cleaner back then. I used to do a lot of swimming with goggles and diving, I used to see a whole lot of different species - trout, eels, koura - so they were in abundance then.” 

For the past decade, Gordon has been working internationally on large scale industrial energy projects across China, Norway and through South East Asia.

Two years ago, the River called him home to be closer to his whānau. He’s just recently started as the new Programme Manager of Mouri Tūroa.

The aim of Mouri Tūroa is to improve outcomes for our Awa and Taiao, create nature-based jobs for uri, and reclaim traditional tikanga associated with our ngāhere and waterways.

“Mouri Tūroa is a good initiative to get our people engaged on their whenua, and it will require collaboration, leadership, and a collective hapū and iwi approach.”

One of the key issues is the build up of sediment coming down the River, and a major focus will go towards riparian planting along the river banks to reduce that sediment.

We are currently working on the foundations of the programme, but we want to start hearing from whānau, hapū and landowners who can identify issues on their whenua that are impacting Te Awa Tupua.

“It will be for us to listen to their concerns or mamae on the whenua that is impacting Te Awa Tupua, and for us to be able to act on that directly and support them to develop workplans,” Gordon says.

Then we will seek out contractors who can provide services in weed and pest control, various types of fencing, planting and nursery development.

“Please get in touch if you carry out this mahi within the catchment. We are now in the position to lead this space. It is all about being a collective and the benefits for Te Awa Tupua are huge.”

If you would like to learn more about Mouri Tūroa and what’s happening in this space or how you can be involved, check out the Mouri Tūroa page on our website.