Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air
See below for English translation
He pānuitanga tēnei ki ngā mana katoa o te tāone otīā te hāpori whānui tonu. Hai te wiki tu ai te kaupapa kohi para i Rotomā. He kaupapa kua roa e kawea ana e Aotearoa Dive. Ko tā Aotearoa Dive kaupapa he whakapai i tetehi roto moana ia tau. I tēnei tau kua hono a
tu ai rātau ki te Kaunihera o Toitehuatahi, Te Arawa Lakes Trust, Te Kaunihera o Rotorua me Ghost Diving NZ i Rotomā. Ko te tikanga o te ingoa Rotomā, he mā te wai. Kotahi tekau mā tahi mita te hohonutanga e titiro iho ai ngā kanohi i te wai.
Māori ake nei a Rotomā, he wehi, he iwi, he mana nui. E ai ki a Renee Tapsell, he poumahi mā Aotearoa Dive. ' He tino moana a Rotomā, he wāhi kaha whakamahia nei e ngā kamupene huhua ki te whakangungu ruku moana.
Nā te taumaha o te ua kua kake te teiteinga o te moana, nā tēnei tūāhuatanga kua rere te tini para ki te wai. Ko tā tātau mahi he kohi, he whakapai kia mā anō ai te wai’.
He kaupapa kai te whakahaerengia e ngā mātanga ruku moana. Ko te hiahia nui kia tae katoa mai ngā tangata mātau ki te ruku, ngā mātanga nui otīā ngā tini whānau hoki.
Nā reira e kite ai te hāpori ki te mauri o te ngahere me te mana nui o Rotomā. ' Kua e whia kē ngā kaupapa pēnei kia oti noa i a tātau te kawe. Me te rahi hoki o te para kua tōia ki uta, ka tangi te ngākau’.
Ko tā mātau kaupapa ruku moana kohi para ko hori i tū ki Tikitapu. Me te nui o te para i haoa. E rima tana te rahi o te para i kohia e mātau. E whitu tekau mā rima ngā mātanga ruku moana i tae mai ka pau i a rātau te kotahi haora ana te hua o te mahi tahi. He rima tana te rahi o te para’.
He mahi a Aotearoa Diva nā Renee me tana hoa rangatira a Adrian Bebbington i whakaara.
He kaupapa whakaako tangata ki te ruku tika, ā, kia pakeke hoki ngā whakaaro i a rātau e kaukau ana. Kua kotahi tekau mā ono o ngā tau a Renee e ruku moana ana. He uri ia nō Ngāti Whakaue.
He tohunga ia ki te ruku ko te kupu taitara pākehā ko te SSI Master Instructor, PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer, ko ia hoki te ringatohu o Aotearoa Dive. He māngai hoki ia mō ngā roto moana katoa.
' Ka puta mai taku whānau ki te tautoko i tēnei kaupapa whakapai he ahakoa ki whea tū ai. Nā reira taku whakaiti. He tangata ū ngākau pono ki te mana o te taiao. Mēnā ka ū katoa tātau ki te kaupapa kotahi, he maunga ka ekea.
I whakawhiwhia a Aotearoa Dive ki te tohu Blue Ocean 2022 mō tā rātau aro nui ki te mana o te taiao, ara ko te kawe me te whakaū i te whakaaro tiaki taiao ki te puku o tā rātau mahi.
‘Ko te tikanga o ēnei kaupapa ki a tahuri mai ngā kanohi o te rangatahi ki te mana o te taiao, ko taua korero tonu, ko rātau te āpōpō nā reira e noho mā ai ngā wai karekare’.
Mō te kaupapa ka tū inakuanei
Me ū ki te haumarutanga o te tangata. E whitu ngā tino ture a Aotearoa Dive.
Mēnā he mātanga ruku moana koe. Kia mōhio ai koe he āhua ehuehu te wai. Kawea mai tō tiwhikete ruku moana. (Ki te kore he tiwhikete, ka pae koe ki uta)
Ka tirohia katoatia ngā kame ruku moana.
Kai a mātau hoki ētehi kame engari he utu.
Kai a mātau hoki ngā peke para e ki a nei ko te Blue Ocean Trash net. E rima tāra mō te peke kotahi. Hai awhina tēnei ki te utu i te kai o te rā.
Mēna kai te pirangi noho ki uta awhina ai. Kia tika hoki ngā pueru me ngā hū.
He ahakoa he rā mō te whānau. Tiakina ngā tamariki.
■ Haria mai he wai, he pani rā hoki. ■ Kai te āhuatanga o te rā te mana o ngā pūeru.
■ He mahi ki wai, he mahi ki tai hoki
■ Tirohia ngā korero katoa ki te pae tukutuku www.aotearoadive.o.nz —Na Raimona Inia i whakamaori
Roll those sleeves up to help clean up Lake Rotoma this Sunday in the annual Aotearoa Dive community clean-up.
Aotearoa Dive’s plan is to clean up one of the Rotorua lakes each year.
This year it is working in partnership with Bay of Plenty Regional Council, Te Arawa Lakes Trust, Rotorua Lakes Council and Ghost Diving NZ at Lake Rotoma.
Rotoma translates as “clear lake” and it has water clarity of around 11 meters, rich in Māori culture and stunning backdrops.
Renee Tapsell of Aotearoa Dive said it is a very popular lake, and a dive site the company uses for entry level training.
“However, with all the rain we have had over summer, rising water levels have washed a lot of rubbish and micro plastics into it.
“So, we plan to bring it back to its former glory and do a good clean up above and below the water in two areas of the lake.”
The event will involve SCUBA divers, Free Divers, Non-Divers, and families getting their hands dirty on the shoreline.
The aim is to raise awareness of our amazing local environment and ensure it is kept beautiful both above and below the surface.
“After hosting many community dive clean up events over the years and removing many kilos of plastics and rubbish from our waterways, it is sad to see the devastation it can cause, so we try to make every dive count.
“We hosted our last clean-up dive event at Lake Tikitapu and pulled out 5 tonnes of rubbish with 75 divers in 1 hour, glass bottles and plastic wrappers of all kinds were the mean things found.”
Renee and her partner Adrian Bebbington set up Aotearoa Dive to educate their divers on how to keep themselves safe and to be environmentally aware.
She has been diving for 16 years and a professional for 11 of them.
The Uri of Ngāti Whakaue is a SSI Master instructor, PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer, Director of Aotearoa Dive and an advocate for our oceans, lakes, and water ways.
“My whanau come and support all our clean up dive events I have hosted in Aotearoa, they keep me humble, grounded and focused on the importance of these events.
“I am very passionate about keeping our oceans and lakes beautiful above and below the surface, the ocean and lakes need a voice to speak for them and divers get to see first-hand what goes on out there.
“If everyone does their little bit, we can truly make a big difference.”
Aotearoa Dive was awarded the Blue Ocean 2022 for having sound ecological philosophies in every aspect of their business.
“We create these events particularly focused on our young people.They are tomorrow’s leaders, and we hope this ignites the same passion we have for our moana.”
Here are the details of the clean-up dive.
■Safety is paramount so Aotearoa Dive has several rules for the clean-up.
■Scuba Divers who wish to participate must be comfortable working in low visibility, you will need to bring your dive certification (NO CERT, NO DIVE).
■All dive equipment will be inspected to ensure it is safe to use.
■Hire equipment is available from Aotearoa Dive but is limited please get in touch.
■Blue ocean trash net/collection bags will be sold on the day for $5. All proceeds will goes to our kai, BBQ supplied on the day.
■If you would like to be part of the shore crew, you will need to wear fully covered shoes and bring a pair of gardening gloves . . . also be prepared to get down and dirty!
■This is a family friendly event, but all children must be supervised at all times by an adult.
■ Don’t forget to bring your own water bottle and sunscreen.
■ Dress for the weather (warm clothes and jackets) – we go ahead rain or shine.
■ There will also be plenty of work for non-divers to get involved.
■ RSVP on the website www.aotearoadive.co.nz
'We really have something special going on here,' the academy co-founder says.