Guardians Of The Environment On Maori Television

PUBLICITY RELEASE
OCTOBER 3, 2007

Guardians Of The Environment On Maori Television

Maori Television™s inside look at environmental issues from a uniquely Maori perspective “ KAITIAKI “ premieres on Saturday December 15 at 7.00 PM.

The half-hour weekly programme produced by Auckland-based Kiwa Media highlights the ways in which whanau, hapu and iwi are working as active kaitiaki (guardians) of the environment. Each episode looks at a single environmental issue in depth and begins to explore the causes of the problem. Inevitably, it™s never simple and there's never an easy solution but KAITIAKI looks to the community for sustainable answers.

Producer Chelsea Winstanley says making the series has been more a labour of love than work. œWhen you care about the environment, then exposing problems and looking for solutions is a wonderful day™s work, she says.

In the first episode of KAITIAKI (Saturday December 15 at 7.00 PM), the programme looks at an important part of New Zealand history: the battle for the return of the Raglan golf course to Maori. But in some ways, it was a hollow victory as sewage continues to be pumped into the sea near Te Kopua “ with the outfall just metres from a kohanga reo.

The second episode of KAITIAKI (Saturday December 22 at 7.00 PM) sees a dream come true for Ngati Koroki Kahukura as they participate in the re-introduction of long lost species such as kiwi and takahe to Maungatautari in the Waikato. Inside a 47 kilometre pest proof fence, the miracle of rebirth takes place with ancient plants, animals and bird species regenerating, free from introduced predators.

Then, in the first of two episodes (Saturday December 29 at 7.00 PM), KAITIAKI investigates the legacy of the now defunct Whakatane sawmill and the use of toxic chemicals in timber treatment. Although the mill closed in 1988, the battle by workers to have their work related health concerns diagnosed and recognised continues. The show looks at the land in the Eastern Bay of Plenty where dioxin-laced mill waste was dumped as landfill including marae and waahi tapu.

Join Maori Television for a unique environmental series from a distinctly Maori perspective when KAITIAKI premieres on Saturday December 15 at 7.00 PM.

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