Te Waihou (Tūheihei)

After my photoshoot of Te Waihou, I decided to cleanse my taonga in the awa. This was at the Whites Rd end of Te Waihou where you can swim and because I hadn't given my taonga some love in a while, I thought after my walk/photoshoot would be a perfect time.

These are some additional photos I took on my phone while at Te Waihou during my photoshoot for my posters in the previous post. I documented signage related to safe parking and littering with warnings of fines if rules are not adhered to, along with information about Te Waihou's history, the history of farming around Te Waihou and the cultural significance of the awa to local hapū.

I took photos of some cows graizing way downstream from Tūheihei (yet this still didn't seem to sit right with me) and some pest control devices dotted along the trail. I also happened upon someone cutting down trees during the first fifteen minutes of walking the trail. They were on the other side of the awa and I will say I'm not too sure of the reason why tree cutting was occuring but it was something I took note of mentally, as I wasn't about to point my camera at someone unsuspecting.

Production Timeline

Project Moodboard

Case Studies: Poster & Podcast

I found great inspiration in the case studies I found. For my poster, Te Tauihu Environmental Trust (TET) and Chris Burkard gave me some great pointers as to how I can approach my topic creatively. TET has a page of a draft plan for the Motueka Catchment, coming from the Motueka Catchment Collective, that is very informative of their methods to help conserve our natural environment. Chris Burkard's photography is a great visual incentive for my campaign. His images evoke the feeling that nature is just as alive as we are, his photos of Iceland's rivers almost mimicking veins, an amazing aspect I could potentially incoporate into my work that's meaningful to me. Mixing education with impactful visuals that will both inform and evoke emotional effects from my audience is the goal I'm aiming for.

A quick search for podcast examples granted me a lucky find in the form of RNZ's Our Changing World, with a specific episode titled Restoring freshwater forests, giving me great insight to what I experiment with for my own podcast. The episode is also very educational and takes place outside of a recording studio, which is something similar I wanted to try with my interviewees when dicussing Te Waihou. This just highlights the fact that podcasting is the perfect medium for my topic of choice.

Below referenced are my sources for the images above:

Photography images (first 3 images): Burkard, C. (n.d.). [Photograh] X Universe. https://alphauniverse.com/stories/chris-burkard-on-conservation-photography-and-his-creative-drive-an-earth-day-conversation/

Website Screenshot: RNZ. (n.d.). Restoring freshwater forests. https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/ourchangingworld/audio/2019013721/restoring-freshwater-forests

Motueka Draft Plan: Motueka Catchment Collective. (n.d.). Help Shape How We Live With and Care for Our Rivers. https://motuekacatchment.org.nz/help-shape-how-we-live-with-and-care-for-our-rivers/

During my research, I happened across a thesis written by someone from Putaruru named Clifton E. Kelly. His thesis was written in 2020 for the degree, Master of Social Sciences at our very own University of Waikato.

Thanks to Kelly's own research, I was able to find out a plethora of information I previously didn't know about Te Waihou/Tūheihei. The above images are brainstorm notes taken directly from Kelly's thesis. My brainstorming process was quite fun, as I have never thought to take down information this way before, and trying this method has proved efficient in my researching. Something interesting (and cool) I found out is that a close friend of mine actually knows Kelly, and even recognised a couple of interviewees from the thesis who Kelly had quoted. It was very exciting to find this research and I really enjoyed learning about our toanga tuku iho.

Below is Kelly's thesis referenced in proper APA formatting:

Kia ora koutou! Ko Danielle toku ingoa and haere mai to my blog:)

For my first post I'd like to introduce my topic for Creative Media Production (MEDIA220) at the University of Waikato, Te Waihou Walkway. Or more commonly known as the Putāruru Blue Springs. Te Waihou is about a 4K-long walkable track, with the awa running alongside as you trek to the star of the show: some of the bluest water you can find here in the Waikato. Above is a snippet of a video a friend of mine took. I was talking about my assignment for Creative Media Production, when they asked me if I wanted to shoot a video explaining my assignment instead. I agreed and now here we are.

I was quite nervous as I hardly ever step in front of a camera, but I do admit it felt nice to get the idea off my chest, and also have something to look back on and help me develop my campaign process more easily. Well, that's the goal anyway.

Since I was 13 I've lived in Putāruru and have many memories of summers spent at Te Waihou. However, things have changed in the last few years and now there seems to be much more tourists being attracted to our local awa. Although I do use the word 'attraction' in the video to describe Te Waihou, that is actually inaccurate. This awa is really a precious taonga to us locals in Putāruru and there is much to be done if we want to preserve Te Waihou for future generations to come. Te Waihou already has to endure the effects of foot traffic, waste from farms and lumbermills, the pumping of water from the awa to supply drinking water and much more.

I hope to create a campaign that will help raise more awareness and knowledge of Te Waihou. As the awa has been apart of my life for a significant amount of time now, and because I know people close to me who belong to Te Waihou (as in Te Waihou is their awa), I feel a certain duty to make a change for this taonga. I am very excited to share the next steps in my process and to see how this campaign turns out. Until the next post.....