51萝莉

Kiri Reihana鈥檚 research at the 51萝莉 in Tauranga is helping her reconnect with her heritage and ancestral roots.

A descendant of Ng膩puhi, Te Rarawa, Ng膩i T奴hoe, and Whakat艒hea tribes, Kiri's doctoral (PhD) research in Environmental Sciences on tuangi (cockles) in the Bay of Plenty鈥檚 艑hiwa Harbour will help plan for the continued well-being of the harbour.

As a 50-year-old single mother of four, Kiri says her PhD isn鈥檛 just a personal endeavour.

鈥淚t鈥檚 for my people. It鈥檚 a sense of responsibility and I am only responding to where I need to be, contributing my skills and knowledge along the way.鈥�

Born in Australia but raised in Auckland as the halfway point between her father's and mother's people in Kaikohe, in Northland and Whakat膩ne in the Bay.

Kiri鈥檚 love for the ocean stems from her childhood experiences when her parents would take her to the beach to collect pipis and cockles.

鈥淒ad would cook them on a hotplate, we鈥檇 eat them on the beach and sleep on the way home. These memories fuelled my research as they鈥檙e tied to the places I grew up.鈥�

Kiri鈥檚 research, which maps the habitats, populations and evolution of cockles, feeds into the  - a $71.1 million initiative that aims to protect and enhance the marine environment in New Zealand.

She is collecting and creating information that can inform iwi and council decision-making through m膩tauranga M膩ori (M膩ori knowledge) and marine science.

鈥淲e are putting that data into a species distribution model that was developed by NIWA to predict optimal habitats for future cockle restorations. As well as identifying existing cockle habits and looking at additional surveying areas if required.

鈥淭his journey has been fantastic. I鈥檝e been supported along the way with scholarships, which to me, is confirmation I鈥檓 where I鈥檓 meant to be.鈥�

Kiri was awarded $5000 as part of the Bay Trust Kaitiakitanga Scholarship to support her PhD study at Waikato and was the first M膩ori PhD student to receive the 尝鈥橭谤茅补濒-鲍狈贰厂颁翱 for Women in Science mentoring fellowship in 2022.

Her commitment to research excellence was also acknowledged with the Research & Enterprise Study Award in 2021, 2022, and 2023, the Project Ignite Scholarship, and the School of Science Masters Research Scholarship during her Master of Science in Biological Sciences in 2013.

Kiri attended Rutherford College in Te Atat奴 before her mother sent her to a Catholic girls鈥� school after she was caught smoking.

鈥淪he hoped it would straighten me out, and maybe it did,鈥� laughed Kiri. 鈥淭he only thing I was good at in school was math and drawing, so naturally, I followed that path.鈥�

In between travel, study and her family obligations, Kiri completed architecture and environmental sciences degrees.

鈥淚 was working full-time as an architectural graduate for an environmental architect in Auckland, sometimes working up to 80 hours a week while attending my environmental sciences degree.

鈥淭his was when I embraced my new pathway.鈥�

Upon finishing her degree, Kiri received a scholarship to do environmental research on the Rena oil spill that occurred off the coast of Tauranga in 2011 and moved to Maket奴 to pursue her master鈥檚 at Waikato.

鈥淚 looked at the impact the oil spill had on kai (food). I went along the beaches to see how far the oil spread two years after and what remnants of oil were left in the environment.鈥�

She worked for Manaaki Whenua - Landcare Research in Hamilton, where she gained valuable experience under the guidance of senior M膩ori environmental scientists such as Garth Harmsworth and Shaun Awatere, then eventually enrolled in her PhD in 2021.

As a single mum, 鈥淚 just want to set a good example for my kids, we naturally enjoy the outdoors, especially being at the beach and there is a saying by 笔腻 McGowan, 鈥榢a ora te whenua ka ora te tangata鈥�, when the land (environment) is well, then our people are well.

鈥淚t鈥檚 the holistic perspective that we as M膩ori hold, about being at one with our environment, treating it with the kindness it deserves for it to sustain us.鈥�