Te Ara Tukutuku project will turn the industrial petro-chemical northern Wynyard Point into a community space.
So far, the project is in the healing phase - Tāmata te Mauri, returning and nurturing it to a state of mauri ora, restoring the living and connected ecosystems.
The space was once home to healthy marine life until the waterfront was developed to handle shipping and stored liquids, which caused contamination and degraded the mauri of the area.
The 5ha space is a project by Eke Panuku Development Auckland, a council-controlled organisation that works on urban regeneration. Te Ara Tukutuku is co-designed by mana whenua, Toi Waihanga design collective and technical specialists using both mātauranga Māori and western practices.
It will be the largest new space in city centre in 100 years. It will have a ngahere, plant nursery, outdoor classrooms, whare waka, waka ramp, tidal stairs, elevated headland, education opportunities and marine restoration.
Te Ara Tukutuku as the project name was gifted by Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei and is named after the waka ramps to reflect how Māori used to use the Waitematā shoreline. Waka would be dragged in and out of the water at Mangōnui, Te Ōnewa and Mahurangi and the awa (for example Tunamau) acted as corridors and ramps to Tangaroa. The name is also a metaphor binding the land and sea.
Environmental regeneration
The management of historical contamination is expected to be the most important element of the project and will take time as there is over 100 years of damage but both western science and mātauranga Māori nature-based solutions will be used.
Plans for the work include adapting to climate change, and improving coastal resilience and flood capacity. This mana whenua-led work is supported by environmental engineers Morphum Environmental.
The ngahere will be a habitat to support diverse ecosystems that will help nurture the area back to health and restore the mauri of the wai. Establishing the forest will take time but kauri, tōtara, tī kōuka, tainoka, kāramuramu, karo, and rengarenga will be planted. The nursery will offer community open days for educational workshops.
This work is led by mana whenua, supported by Uru Whakaaro, their consulting technical advisors and ecology specialists.
“Our coastal ngahere do all they need to do without the intervention of people. We can help grow a new ngahere by observing the structure of wild environments and try to replicate the relationships between plants to give them all the best chance of survival” according to Charmaine Bailie from Uru Whakaaro.
The marine restoration will also be led by mana whenua and supported by Tātaki Ltd, their technical advisors and marine scientists.
You can view the concept designs here, and share your feedback here.
