Nearly 10 years with Te Puhinui: Sam shares what it takes to help an awa regenerate.
17.09.2026
What does it take to help an awa regenerate?
At the latest Ngā Aho KORA Session at Objectspace, Done Director and Kaiārahi Kaupapa Whakaora Sam McGavock reflected on this question through a kaupapa very close to her heart: Te Puhinui.
Sam has worked with Te Puhinui for almost 10 years, with her role continually evolving in response to what the kaupapa needs – and what it doesn’t need. Over that time, an ever-expanding ecosystem of Mana Whenua leaders, mātauranga Māori specialists, community, Auckland Urban Development Office and Healthy Waters has grown around the awa.
Her KORA presentation, delivered in the fast-paced PechaKucha format of 20 slides at 20 seconds each, explored what this journey has taught her about regeneration. At its heart is a simple idea: regeneration is not something any one organisation or person can deliver. It is about creating the conditions for people, relationships, knowledge and action to grow around a shared kaupapa.
That approach can be seen throughout Te Whakaoranga o Te Puhinui. A shared strategy established a common direction, while Te Puhinui Charter created a visible commitment to the long-term journey and the accountability needed to sustain it through change.
Today, physical work to restore the awa is interwoven with 21 strategic initiatives reflecting priorities identified by Mana Whenua. These include maramataka, ngahere, Te Puhinui Living Lab, Te Reo o Waiohua and identity. Through this mahi, specialists are restoring ancestral knowledge, reconnecting people with te taiao, creating opportunities for community-led learning and action, strengthening Waiohua-specific reo and identity, and capturing the stories of change taking place throughout the catchment.
It was a privilege to share some of what Te Puhinui has taught us alongside the incredible mahi of the wider Ngā Aho whānau.
After almost a decade, one thing feels increasingly clear: regeneration is as much about nurturing the ecosystem of people and knowledge around a place as it is about the physical transformation of the place itself.
Ngā mihi nui to Ngā Aho and Objectspace for creating space for these stories to be shared.
