Pukenui taonga
Whakahoki te mana
te oranga me te wairua
o te taonga nei
hei tohu mo o tatou
mokopuna
A forest treasure
A beating heart
With our help
its health and wellbeing
remains, for future generations.
To establish and maintain a restoration programme for the protection of the taonga of the Pukenui Forest and to enhance its potential in ways compatible to our shared values.
Hei Ahikā, kaitiaki, e whakapono ana matou ka haere a Tane Mahuta i roto i te ngahere, ka whai hua ki nga mea katoa mai i te whakaora i nga tipu me nga rakau tae noa ki te tuku i te rangimarie wairua mo te hunga e rapu whakaruruhau ana mai i te puku o te taone nui.
As Ahikā, kaitiaki, we believe that Tane Mahuta journeys through the forests, bringing fruitfulness to everything from healing plants and trees to providing spiritual peace and tranquillity for those seeking refuge from the hustle and bustle of city life.
This whakataukī was gifted by Matua Winiwini Kingi, who is currently an ahikaa Trustee representing hapū Ngāti Kahu o Torongare.
This whakataukī highlights the interconnectedness of all things, with no one single value dominating. It highlights that people’s health and wealth depend on the health and wealth of taonga, such as the Pukenui Forest. How do we know when the forest is healthy and wealthy? Such signs as these, indicators like the heart of the flax bush (harakeke) intact for the bellbird (korimako) to stand and sing upon, tell us.
More generally, we might look to the protection and health of this taonga through the concept of biodiversity, where indigenous flora and fauna are allowed to thrive. Through the Trust, the forest can be a place to celebrate our biculturalism by bringing back and strengthening our indigenous biodiversity.
