Taranaki mother Kerena Wano champions environmental planning scholarship

Kerena Wano.

Young Taranaki mother Kerena Wano is planning for the future, not only for her family – but for the district as well.

With two small children – a 5-year-old and a 2-year-old – and a third on the way, Wano, 30, has almost completed her year-long post-graduate diploma in planning through Massey University, an achievement she said was thanks to a New Plymouth District Council Whakapuāwai Taiao/Environmental and Planning Scholarship.

Wano, who works for the Ministry for the Environment and is a trustee for Ngā Kaitiaki o Puketapu Hapū, is using the scholarship to grow her expertise in environment policy, especially around the environmental aspects of the Treaty of Waitangi settlements.

“We have an awesome network of Māori planners in Taranaki, but we need more to keep up with the legislation, resource consent and everything across the Resource Management Act (RMA). We have a lot of boots on the ground work already happening, which is really important, but that next level of expertise around the RMA and environmental policy is something that I saw as a need.”

Having the financial scholarship made a real difference, she said, and it was something she would encourage others to consider applying for.

“The scholarship was really, really helpful. It completely covered my course fees, so I haven’t been burdened by a student loan. Because we’ve got so many taiao initiatives happening across the region within our whānau, hapū and iwi, an opportunity like this is amazing and I would like more of our people to know about this – it can only grow.”

Applications are now open for the scholarship. New Plymouth District Council iwi relationships manager Aroha Chamberlain said the scholarship’s aim is to help raise the numbers of local hapū and iwi members equipped with tertiary planning and environmental management qualifications. It is open to descendants of qualifying iwi and hapū groups in the New Plymouth District.

Grants will cover the fees for one year of study towards a planning or environmental management qualification at a whare wānanga university or other tertiary education organisation.

“We all benefit from working with tangata whenua to plan our growing communities and care for our environment. Our local hapū and iwi groups are kaitiaki and they help make our planning processes more efficient. NPDC has statutory obligations in regard to this as we manage natural resources under the Resource Management Act 1991,” said Chamberlain.

“Find out more and apply on the council’s website.”

Applications are open until February 7 and can also be submitted to Latesha Utiger, Mātauranga Taiao Rangapū, Iwi Relationships, c/ NPDC, Private Bag 2025, New Plymouth 4340 or email iwirelationships@npdc.govt.nz.