Stream Symbiosis, envisioning a socio-ecological balance between people and urban streams.
“Rivers, lakes, streams, and springs are the bloodlines of Papatūānuku, the earth mother” (Te Aho, 2019). This view from Mātauranga Māori reflects a deep connection to water that has been disrupted by urbanization and population growth, fragmenting ecosystems and disconnecting youth from their local ecologies. This research examines ways to restore awareness of human impact on nature and reshape our spatial relationships with landscapes.
Wellington’s Whaitua-based water management model restores community-led decision-making, fostering local ownership and stewardship of waterways. This shift offers an opportunity for landscape-based education that builds resilience and a stronger connection to the land.
Using design-led methodologies, this research integrates both Western and Indigenous knowledge to strengthen people’s bond with the landscape. Through community engagement, it aims to build a more tangible relationship with urbanized streams, especially among youth. The Kaiwharawhara catchment, Wellington’s largest stream system and only open estuary, provides an ideal setting for this approach (Zealandia, 2018). Leveraging its unique biodiversity, educational routes will be developed through schools and sites along the stream, creating a cultural and environmental learning corridor.
Educational tools at key sites will foster environmental stewardship, helping youth appreciate the interdependence of flora, fauna, and ecosystems. Design interventions across the catchment will promote stream accessibility and safeguard hydrological and ecological functions for future generations. By drawing on the land’s history as a provider and the Māori practices of sustainable stewardship, this research seeks to revive the mauri (life force) of the landscape, creating a lasting symbiosis between people and land that educates and inspires.