The Environment Centre would like to congratulate Rueben Porter, long-serving trustee with our board, for achieving recognition of his voluntary work for the environment with the receipt of the Green Ribbon Award.
Ko Tinana te Waka
Ko Tumoana te Tupuna
Ko Whangatauatia te Maunga
Ko Karirikura te Moana
Ko Roma te Marae
Reuben Porter Iwi - Nga Puhi, Te Rarawa, Tuhoe
“Ehara taku toa I te toa takitahi, engari k otaku toa I te toa takitini”
My strength is not mine alone, but that which comes from the multitudes.
This week Ahipara resident, Rueben Porter will be travelling to Wellington with his wife Heeni and daughter Karirikura to receive the Green Ribbon Award for his outstanding contribution to the environment. The Award, which is presented by the Minister for the Environment, Nick Smith, recognises individuals and organisations who contribute to sustaining, protecting and enhancing New Zealand’s environment.
Awards are made for a number of different categories; Rueben’s being for his work as a community volunteer for the environment.
Unwilling to accept the award solely on his own behalf, Rueben sought the blessing of Nga Hapu o Ahipara to receive the Green Ribbon Award as a representative of his local community. The whakatauki, or saying, above, explains that ones strength comes from the people. Rueben’s people have lived in Ahipara for over 20 generations, since the waka Tinana settled at Te Kohanga. Rueben is committed to ensuring the land, the sea and the people are healthy and prosperous for the next 20 generations.
Demonstrating his commitment to the kaupapa of Kaitiakitanga in his local area and beyond, Rueben regularly engages with local youth, and in the summer of 2008-9 ran a series of Wananga at Te Kohanga Bay, Ahipara, covering subjects as diverse as whakapapa, bee-keeping, celestial navigation and Te Rarawa foreshore and seabed issues.
Passionate about the North being self-sufficient in food supplies, Rueben supports projects that encourage people to use land sustainably, ensuring the land is nurtured just as the land provides sustenance to whanau and hapu. In his role as chairman of Taitokerau Organic Producers Society, Rueben has been promoting the Manawhenua Challenge – a competition for young organic gardeners which has seen school and marae-based groups work on creating gardens while following the kaupapa of nourishing themselves, their whanau, community and the land.
This weekend (June 5, 6 and 7) will see a hui at Rueben’s home marae, Roma Marae, bringing together organic growing enthusiasts from around the country for the Te Waka Kai Ora AGM, workshops, and a prize-giving for participants in the Manawhenua Challenge. Working with local government, iwi agencies and numerous other groups, Rueben seeks to bridge the gap between Maori and Pakeha, finding common ground in promoting kaitiakitanga and exploring innovative ways to make positive changes for people and the environment. The Green Ribbon Award is a timely recognition of Rueben’s work and the growing role hapu are taking on as kaitiaki of their environment.
Rueben taking water samples at Ahipara where stagnant stormwater threatens the quality of water flowing to the moana
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