Natural Hazards and Resilience Platform Te Pae Tūroa

01/09/2026

“Learning together strengthens us all”

Across Aotearoa, communities have been responding to natural hazards and climate impacts in their own ways.

The challenge is that too often those lessons remain isolated.

At a recent wānanga for the Ngā Herenga o Papatūānuku project, Lara Taylor highlighted the importance of sharing experiences, successes, and hard-earned lessons.

"If we work together then we can become more efficient, we can learn from each other's stories."

No community should have to face climate challenges alone—and no community should have to relearn lessons that others have already discovered.

Collaboration remains one of our most powerful adaptation tools.

The Ngā Herenga o Papatūānuku | Weaving the bonds of Papatūānuku project is developing the foundations of a national network for tangata whenua involved in climate change adaptation, funded through one of our Capability Retention Grants.

The project was led by Lara Taylor, Shari Gallop, Akuhata Bailey-Winiata, Yvonne Taura and Milly Grant-Mackie, with Te Kāhui (steering committee) members Kiritapu Allan, Lucy Kaiser, Lani Kereopa, Fiona Kemp and Elva Conroy.

Big shout out to Charlotte Boyt, Samson Wainohu, Waitaha Rapuwai and Mohaka Hooper at Kohuorangi Communications for putting together these reels, and to Chantelle Conroy for storytelling / photography skills at the wānanga.

Ngā mihi nui to PDP, E Oho!, Beca, Bioeconomy Science Institute, University of Auckland - Waipapa Taumata Rau, The Nature Conservancy Asia Pacific, Northland Regional Council, Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Whakaue mai Maketū, Te Arawa Fisheries Group & Te Kotahitanga o Te Arawa Waka Fisheries Trust, Ngati Pahauwera Development Trust, Aotearoa Society of Adaptation Professionals | Rōpū Urutaunga Aotearoa and Kohuorangi Communications.

27/08/2026

“Communities across Aotearoa are already adapting”

Across the motu, many marae, kāinga, and sites of significance are already experiencing the impacts of climate change.

Flooding, coastal erosion, sea-level rise, and changing hazard patterns are becoming increasingly familiar realities for communities.

At a recent wānanga for the Ngā Herenga o Papatūānuku project, Jolene George shared how the communities she works alongside are navigating a diverse range of climate-related challenges, while continuing to build resilience for the future.

What stood out at this wānanga was the willingness of people to openly share their experiences so others can learn from them.

The challenges may differ from place to place, but we have much to gain from learning together.

The Ngā Herenga o Papatūānuku | Weaving the bonds of Papatūānuku project is developing the foundations of a national network for tangata whenua involved in climate change adaptation, funded through one of our Capability Retention Grants.

The project was led by Lara Taylor, Shari Gallop, Akuhata Bailey-Winiata, Yvonne Taura and Milly Grant-Mackie, with Te Kāhui (steering committee) members Kiritapu Allan, Lucy Kaiser, Lani Kereopa, Fiona Kemp and Elva Conroy.

Big shout out to Charlotte Boyt, Samson Wainohu, Waitaha Rapuwai and Mohaka Hooper at Kohuorangi Communications for putting together these reels, and to Chantelle Conroy for storytelling / photography skills at the wānanga.

Ngā mihi nui to PDP, E Oho!, Beca, Bioeconomy Science Institute, University of Auckland - Waipapa Taumata Rau, The Nature Conservancy Asia Pacific, Northland Regional Council, Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Whakaue mai Maketū, Te Arawa Fisheries Group & Te Kotahitanga o Te Arawa Waka Fisheries Trust, Ngati Pahauwera Development Trust, Aotearoa Society of Adaptation Professionals | Rōpū Urutaunga Aotearoa and Kohuorangi Communications.

18/08/2026

“Our relationship with climate change matters”

Climate adaptation is often framed through science, projections, and technical assessments 📈

Those tools are important—but they are only part of the story.

At a recent wānanga for the Ngā Herenga o Papatūānuku project, Milly Grant-Mackie spoke about the importance of understanding our relationship with climate change and allowing that relationship to guide our response.

"How we can understand our relationship to climate change to then guide the way we respond."

Adaptation is not simply about infrastructure or engineering solutions. It is also about identity, connection to place, and how communities choose to navigate change while remaining grounded in their values ❤️

The Ngā Herenga o Papatūānuku | Weaving the bonds of Papatūānuku project is developing the foundations of a national network for tangata whenua involved in climate change adaptation, funded through one of our Capability Retention Grants.

The project was led by Lara Taylor, Shari Gallop, Akuhata Bailey-Winiata, Yvonne Taura and Milly Grant-Mackie, with Te Kāhui (steering committee) members Kiritapu Allan, Lucy Kaiser, Lani Kereopa, Fiona Kemp and Elva Conroy.

The final project wānanga was generously hosted by Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Whakaue ki Maketū.

Big shout out to Charlotte Boyt, Samson Wainohu, Waitaha Rapuwai and Mohaka Hooper at Kohuorangi Communications for putting together these reels, and to Chantelle Conroy for storytelling / photography skills at the wānanga.

Ngā mihi nui to PDP, E Oho!, Beca, Bioeconomy Science Institute, University of Auckland - Waipapa Taumata Rau, The Nature Conservancy Asia Pacific, Northland Regional Council, Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Whakaue mai Maketū, Te Arawa Fisheries Group & Te Kotahitanga o Te Arawa Waka Fisheries Trust, Ngati Pahauwera Development Trust, Aotearoa Society of Adaptation Professionals | Rōpū Urutaunga Aotearoa and Kohuorangi Communications.

09/08/2026

We're thrilled to celebrate the achievements of Melanie Mark-Shadbolt, Pou Whakahaere of our Vision Mātauranga research programme and member of our Platform Leadership Team.

Melanie (Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Kahungunu, Te Ātiawa, Ngāti Raukawa, Te Arawa) was recently elected by the Royal Society Te Apārangi as one of 13 new Companions, for her "sustained nationally significant contribution at the intersection of indigenous knowledge systems, environmental science, and science policy."

The Society notes that over two decades as an indigenous environmental advocate, Melanie has "reshaped how Aotearoa understands and applies mātauranga Māori to biodiversity, biosecurity, emergency management, and climate resilience."

Melanie co-founded and leads Te Tira Whakamātaki, a Māori environmental research organisation, which is also the home of Hono, the Māori Emergency Management Network. She was the Director Māori of the Biological Heritage National Science Challenge, and Co-Chair of the Resilience to Nature's Challenges National Science Challenge (the predecessor of our Platform).

She has held senior roles including Deputy Secretary Māori Rights and Interests at the Ministry for the Environment, and chairs the Better Border Biosecurity Collaboration Council. Her contribution to indigenous biosecurity and public leadership earned her the 2021 Westpac Women of Influence Public Policy Award.

We're so pleased to have an environmental advocate and research leader of this calibre in our leadership team, and very proud to see Melanie recognised in this way ❤️

06/08/2026

“From surviving to thriving”

For many Māori communities, conversations about climate adaptation are not new.

In Maketū, communities have been grappling with climate risks for decades, learning firsthand what it means to live with coastal hazards and changing environmental conditions.

The Ngā Herenga o Papatūānuku | Weaving the bonds of Papatūānuku project recently held their final project wānanga at Whakaue marae in Māketu.

One of the most powerful messages shared at the wānanga was the importance of learning from one another and thinking across generations.

As Roana Bennett shared: "This is about survivability and it's about getting to a future where we can thrive, not just survive."

Adaptation is not only about managing risks. It's about creating futures where our people, places, and taonga can continue to flourish.

The Ngā Herenga o Papatūānuku | Weaving the bonds of Papatūānuku project is developing the foundations of a national network for tangata whenua involved in climate change adaptation, funded through one of our Capability Retention Grants.

The project was led by Lara Taylor, Shari Gallop, Akuhata Bailey-Winiata, Yvonne Taura and Milly Grant-Mackie, with Te Kāhui (steering committee) members Kiritapu Allan, Lucy Kaiser, Lani Kereopa, Fiona Kemp and Elva Conroy.

Big shout out to Charlotte Boyt, Samson Wainohu, Waitaha Rapuwai and Mohaka Hooper at Kohuorangi Communications for putting together these reels, and to Chantelle Conroy for storytelling / photography skills at the wānanga.

Ngā mihi nui to PDP, E Oho!, Beca, Bioeconomy Science Institute, University of Auckland - Waipapa Taumata Rau, The Nature Conservancy Asia Pacific, Northland Regional Council , Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Whakaue mai Maketū, Te Arawa Fisheries Group & Te Kotahitanga o Te Arawa Waka Fisheries Trust, Ngati Pahauwera Development Trust, KLA Consultancy, Aotearoa Society of Adaptation Professionals | Rōpū Urutaunga Aotearoa and Kohuorangi Communications.

30/07/2026

"The time for action is right now."

Over the coming weeks, we are excited to be releasing a series of reels from the Ngā Herenga o Papatūānuku | Weaving the bonds of Papatūānuku project.

The project is developing the foundations of a national network for tangata whenua involved in climate change adaptation, funded through a Capability Retention Grant. Next month the team will release a kete of resources which will collate adaptation stories and approaches from around the motu.

Climate change is not a future challenge—it is already affecting our marae, communities, and places of significance across Aotearoa.

At a recent climate adaptation wānanga in Maketū hosted by Ngāti Whakaue Maketū with Roana Bennett, Elva Conroy and many others...practitioners, researchers, iwi leaders and community members gathered from across the motu to share experiences, challenges, and solutions.

As Kiritapu Allan reflected: "The time for action is right now."

The conversations highlighted an important truth—adaptation is ultimately about people, relationships, and supporting whānau to make informed decisions about the future.

The scale of the challenge is significant, but so too is the collective commitment of those working alongside hapū, iwi, and communities across Aotearoa.

The project was led by Lara Taylor, Shari Gallop, Akuhata Bailey-Winiata, Yvonne Taura and Milly Grant-Mackie, with Te Kāhui (steering committee) members Kiritapu Allan, Lucy Kaiser, Lani Kereopa, Fiona Kemp and Elva Conroy.

Big shout out to Charlotte Boyt, Samson Wainohu, Waitaha Rapuwai and Mohaka Hooper at Kohuorangi Communications for putting together these reels, and to Chantelle Conroy for storytelling / photography skills at the wānanga.

Ngā mihi nui to PDP E Oho!, Beca, Bioeconomy Science Institute, University of Auckland - Waipapa Taumata Rau, The Nature Conservancy Asia Pacific, Northland Regional Council, Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Whakaue mai Maketū, Te Arawa Fisheries Group & Te Kotahitanga o Te Arawa Waka Fisheries Trust, Ngati Pahauwera Development Trust, KLA Consultancy, Aotearoa Society of Adaptation Professionals | Rōpū Urutaunga Aotearoa and Kohuorangi Communications.

07/07/2026

🎧 Check out this really interesting episode of RNZ’s Our Changing World, on important work being carried out by colleagues at Earth Sciences New Zealand, Massey University - Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa and GeoNet to better understand landslide risk, and build Aotearoa New Zealand’s resilience to landslides in a changing climate.

Listen 🎧 RNZ's Our Changing World: Building a nation-wide model of landslide risk

We were thrilled to welcome RNZ’s Claire Concannon to our site in Avalon, Lower Hutt, last month - the home of our engineering geology team including landslide researchers, and our GeoNet 24/7 geological hazard monitoring service.

⛰️ Claire speaks to Dr Chris Massey, Chief Scientist of Landslide Hazards, about the research he’s leading into “insidious” slow-moving landslides, under a five-year programme called Landslide Watch Aotearoa.

⛈️ With Engineering Geologist Dr Saskia de Vilder, Claire discusses Hōretireti Whenua / Sliding Lands, a complementary five-year programme co-led by Massey University - Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa to forecast rapid landslides.

👀 And Engineering Geologist Dr Sam McColl talks about the role of our team of landslide duty officers and the 24/7 monitoring service they provide to help keep New Zealanders safer from landslides.

In the podcast, Chris, Saskia and Sam cover different types of landslides, triggers, mapping, modelling and impacts, as well as who in Aotearoa needs information about landslides and how they use it.

“We hope to bring out the first national landslide susceptibility model in the next few months,” says Chris. “The amount of storms we’ve had this year, I think that reinforces how much we need to have these models to inform our planning going forward… under this changing climate” adds Saskia.

🎧 Link in comments.

02/07/2026

Remembering the Ruapehu eruptions, 30 years on.

Recently members of our Platform leadership team joined scientists, iwi kaitiaki, community members and representatives from local and government agencies at a very special event to mark 30 years since the 1995/96 Ruapehu eruptions 🌋

The ‘Recollections of Ruapehu’ event was generously hosted by Ngāti Rangi at Maungārongo marae in Ohakune, where those involved in the response shared their experiences and reflections. The weekend also involved field trips to significant sites on and around the maunga, and a public talk.

This article by Moana Ellis beautifully conveys the significance of Ruapehu (or ‘Koro’ as he is referred to) for Ngāti Rangi, and how they observe, understand, live alongside and adapt to his natural behaviours. Participants acknowledged that there has been a much-needed cultural change, with scientists and emergency managers now having a greater appreciation for the mātauranga held by iwi, and how locally-held knowledge developed across generations can be woven together with scientific knowledge for the benefit of everyone.

There were also interesting reflections from various leaders about the deep relationships needed to effectively manage hazards and risks in ways that keep people informed and safe, and how far things have come in the 30 years since the 1995/96 events.

Ngā mihi nui to Ngāti Rangi, the Joint Centre for Disaster Research at Massey University - Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa, Earth Sciences New Zealand, the Natural Hazards Commission Toka Tū Ake, and everyone who participated and shared their reflections ❤️

📸 1. Lloyd Homer, Earth Sciences NZ, 2. Elizabeth Garlick, Earth Sciences NZ

23/06/2026

Next up for our Platform Leadership Team introductions is…Dr Bill Fry, AKA “Bill Fry the science guy!”

Bill is a scientist at Earth Sciences New Zealand and an Honorary Associate Professor at the University of Otago. Trained as a theoretical seismologist, his expertise now spans earthquake and tsunami hazard. Originally from Oklahoma, he has lived in Aotearoa for around 18 years and "absolutely adores the place." He has been involved in the science response to all the medium to large earthquakes in New Zealand during that time.

Bill is a natural collaborator. He chairs the United Nations working group for tsunami early warning in the Pacific, sits on GEO, the primary geohazard advisors to the UN office of Disaster Risk Reduction, and is a member of the Global Tsunami Model.

Over the last five years he led the MBIE-funded Rapid Characterisation of Earthquakes and Tsunami programme, and co-led the Earthquake & Tsunami programme in the Resilience to Nature's Challenges National Science Challenge. This team pioneered the use of earthquake cycle simulators to gain a better picture of New Zealand’s earthquake cycle – i.e., the patterns that form across hundreds of thousands of years – so we can be better prepared for the next big earthquake.

As his moniker suggests, Bill is also an excellent science communicator and loves explaining earthquake physics in ways that the public can understand, although he says this is an easy task, given New Zealanders are a pretty clued-in bunch!

Bill leads our Data and Enabling Technologies programme, which applies modern technological advances to hazard and risk research. The programme’s outputs will help research teams quickly generate scientific advice about ever-changing risks from multiple hazards, so we can make better-informed decisions about resilience.

14/06/2026

It's about time we introduced our wonderful Platform Leadership Team!

First up, Julia Becker. Julia leads our Living with Risk theme, which places people at the heart of disaster risk reduction ❤️

Julia is a Professor and Deputy Director Research at the Joint Centre for Disaster Research at Massey University. She specialises in researching individual and community preparedness, community resilience, land-use planning for natural hazards, and hazard-event warnings.

She worked extensively in Canterbury during the Canterbury earthquakes, and following the Kaikōura earthquake. As well as working closely with the National Emergency Management Agency and regional Emergency Management groups, she has worked in Australia, USA, Japan and the wider Pacific on social issues of hazards and disasters.

Julia also co-led the Resilience, Policy & Governance programme in the Resilience to Nature's Challenges National Science Challenge.

That's all very impressive, but there's more! Julia was also recently conferred the Fellowship of the New Zealand Society for Earthquake Engineering for “outstanding contributions to the integration of social science and earthquake engineering in Aotearoa New Zealand.” 👏

We're stoked to have a leader of Julia's calibre on our leadership team!