Kaitiakitanga: Turning the Tides

Abstract Kaitiakitanga: Turning the Tides is a documentary exploring the restoration of Waitarakao (Washdyke Lagoon) through research grounded in Māori knowledge, values, relationships, and responsibilities. The film documents how environmental knowledge, informed by maramataka (≈ a Māori lunar, seasonal, and ecological system of time) and intergenerational learning, guides collective engagement with the lagoon. Historically an important food-gathering area for Ngāi Tahu, Waitarakao has experienced significant ecological degradation, prompting collective efforts to restore the health of its waters and reconnect people with place. Through the voices and experiences of Indigenous knowledge holders, educators, children, young people and community members, the documentary shows how participants enact kaitiakitanga (≈ culturally grounded and intergenerational responsibilities of care, protection, and restoration) through environmental action and shared responsibility. The film foregrounds storytelling and visual media as ways of communicating research beyond conventional academic contexts. It invites reflection on how collective action, intergenerational knowledge transmission and sustained relationships with place can contribute to the restoration of ecosystems and the renewal of human relationships with the natural world.