Kaitlyn explores her ngahere in Puhoi | Matariki

Where do you find a place of serenity, peace and connection?

Kaitlyn and her whānau care for 16 hectares of beautiful regenerated ngahere (forest) in Puhoi – and it’s here that they have buried their children’s whenua and planted a native tree.

“The whenua for our babies was the placenta and the after birth, which we put back into the land, because that is where we come from. That's where whenua has the dual name of the placenta and the land.”

Using kawakawa sourced from her forest, Kaitlyn learned the rongoā on how to make a balm to treat her daughter’s mosquito bites, including the karakia that is said before harvesting.

Kaitlyn also reflects on her studies with kākāpō and snipe, and shares a pūrākau about how her iwi would sustainably harvest tītī from the Tītī Islands – thanks to a legendary and larger-than-life bird called the hakawai!