Waikato University is receiving $1.84 million from the Government for a four year project to study freshwater food gathering areas and how to manage them better through the use of both science and traditional Maori knowledge.
Deputy director of the university's Te Kotahi Research Institute, Maui Hudson and Associate Professor Kevin Collier from the Faculty of Science and Engineering will head the study, Nga Tohu o te Taiao: Sustaining and Enhancing Wai Maori and Mahinga Kai.
The research project will look at how western science and matauranga Maori (Maori knowledge) can inform them on how to care for areas along the Waikato River which are valuable food resources.
It will involve working with other universities, Crown Research Institutes, iwi, Waikato-Tainui College, the Waikato Raupatu River Trust and local government.
The findings that come out of the study will be used as a template for research on other waterways.
