Making Māngere green again

Māngere is in the hot seat. The South Auckland suburb has a tree canopy cover of only eight percent compared to the ideal of around 30 percent and the Auckland urban average of about 18 percent.

Justine Skilling, a University of Auckland PhD student in sociology, has been looking at a Kāinga Ora-funded initiative based in Māngere that's taken a collective approach to making the neighbourhood greener.

Skilling, a Māngere resident herself, says the overarching idea was to connect initiatives such as Kāinga Ora’s landscaping around its extensive developments with other projects like community gardens and stream regeneration, all under a shared vision for restoring ngahere (forest or ‘many connections’) across the whole area.

“While some of these activities have long existed independently, the pilot wanted to encourage collaboration, shared purpose, and alignment with mana whenua aspirations,” she says.

She particularly remembers a bike ride around the area with fellow collaborators that was so hot it was almost unbearable.

“That ride really highlighted the urgent need for more shade cover and green spaces,” she says.
 

Partners in the initiative (including Te Ahiwaru, Te Aakitai Waiohua, ME Family Services, Kāinga Ora, and Uru Whakaaro) produced a ‘how-to’ booklet to guide people’s efforts: the Ngaa Hau o Maangere Ngahere Planting Guide.

The guide provides practical advice on how to successfully restore and plant ngahere particularly suited to the area, combining ecological and community knowledge with mātauranga Māori, says Skilling.

“It uses mana whenua (groups with decision-making authority for the land) principles to guide planting and offers a step-by-step process for choosing ‘the right plant for the right place,’ considering factors like landscape type, soil, local ecosystems, and community.”

It also includes useful information on site preparation, planting methods, maintenance, pest management and long-term care.

Over a six-month period, Skilling conducted haerenga kitea (walking interviews) around the neighbourhood with project leaders, funders, and volunteers.

“It was great because I was able to see progress in real time, from bare land in some cases to attractive, established planting that favoured eco-sourced native species.”
 

She says the work to regenerate ngahere is already having positive impacts on the holistic wellbeing of people and place.

These have included strengthening the network of environmental organisations in Māngere, making people feel part of something larger than their own backyard or project, building community knowledge and resources and enabling children to get hands-on experience in nature.

“It was great for the children to see themselves as changemakers in that way,” says Skilling.

“Several Māngere schools now have ‘tiny forests’ on their grounds, which the children helped to plant and now care for. One school even led an initiative to plant a community orchard in the park across the road.”

However, she says the change of government in 2023 led to Kāinga Ora withdrawing its funding from the pilot, leaving the work without any official driver and in limbo.

Skilling, who is close to submitting her doctoral thesis, hopes her research will inform future policy and encourage investment in Indigenous-led, community-driven environmental work, where the results will benefit not just this generation, but those that follow.

“This pilot really showed what’s possible when agencies support mana whenua leadership, local knowledge, community aspirations, and long-term relationships.

“These are benefits that extend far beyond environmental restoration, and I hope we’ll see them continue in Māngere and be replicated in other parts of the city and the country.”

Skilling's PhD supervisors are Professor Steve Matthewman (sociology) and Associate Professor Dan Hikuroa (Māori studies).