Research interests
Yvonne Taura (Ngāiterangi, Ngāti Ranginui, Ngāti Hauā, Ngāti Uenuku, Ngāti Tūwharetoa) is a kairangahau Māori (researcher) in the Manaaki Taiao rōpū (Māori research team), based in the Hamilton office. In 2016, she completed a two-year part-placement secondment in partnership with Waikato-Tainui. Her main project was to support the development of mātauranga Māori understanding by Waikato-Tainui tribal members for application in the management of key ecosystems such as freshwater. In 2018, Yvonne was privileged to work alongside senior kairangahau Māori to undertake Storying Kaitiakianga kaupapa Māori land and water food story, which fostered fresh thinking about economic productivity and environmental wellbeing.
Yvonne is the Vision Mātauranga lead for the Wetlands Program, led by Manaaki Whenua, and has been involved in the program since 2014. In 2017, Yvonne co-edited and released the cultural wetland handbook, Te Reo o Te Repo – The Voice of the Wetland, a collaborative project between Manaaki Whenua and Waikato-Tainui. The handbook includes processes for facilitating renewed and vibrant connections between whānau and their repo; understanding cultural resources; and learnings from on-the-ground case studies of wetland restoration and monitoring, utilising cultural indicators. In 2020, Yvonne collaborated with the team at Science Learning Hub to create Tuihonoa Te Reo o Te Repo, a suite of digital educational wetland resources in both te reo Māori and Pākehā. These resources draw extensively on Te Reo o Te Repo. In 2021, Yvonne co-edited the second volume of the Te Reo o Te Repo cultural wetland handbook series. Te Reo o Te Repo – Kei konei tonu au continues to advocate the voices of our repo through the voices of our people and provides Māori values, knowledge, and perspectives from across Aotearoa New Zealand.
Since 2018, Yvonne is currently undertaking her PhD with the University of Waikato with the support of Manaaki Whenua, which focuses on exploring appropriate communication of mātauranga Māori and Māori-centered collaborative science research for Māori.
Her research interests are kaupapa Māori research, freshwater science research, iwi environmental management, and science communication.
Qualifications
Waikato
MSc (Hons) Biological Sciences
2013
Publications
Taura Y, Waiti P, Buntting C 2021. Tuia ngā repo me ngā tāngata = Reconnecting communities with their wetlands. 11 11 In: Taura Y, van Schravendijk-Goodman C, Clarkson B ed. Te reo o te repo - Kei konei tonu au = The voice of the wetland - I am still here. Hamilton, New Zealand, Manaaki Whenua - Landcare Research New Zealand. Pp. 137-149
Taura Y, van Schravendijk-Goodman C, Clarkson B 2021. Te Haerenga o ngā pukapuka repo = Connecting wetlands and people through stories. 1 1 In: Taura Y, van Schravendijk-Goodman C, Clarkson B ed. Te reo o te repo - Kei konei tonu au = The voice of the wetland - I am still here. Hamilton, New Zealand, Manaaki Whenua - Landcare Research New Zealand. Pp. 13-24
Taura Y, van Schravendijk-Goodman C, Clarkson B 2021. Introduction. In: Taura Y, van Schravendijk-Goodman C, Clarkson B ed. Te reo o te repo - Kei konei tonu au = The voice of the wetland - I am still here. Hamilton, New Zealand, Manaaki Whenua - Landcare Research New Zealand. Pp. 1-12
Taura Y, van Schravendijk-Goodman C, Clarkson B 2021. Te reo o te repo - Kei konei tonu au = The voice of the wetland - I am still here. Hamilton, New Zealand, Manaaki-Whenua - Landcare Research New Zealand.
Hutchings J, Smith J, Taura Y, Harmsworth G, Awatere S 2020. Storying kaitiakitanga : exploring kaupapa Māori land and water food stories. MAI Journal (Online) 9(3): 183-194.
Taura Y 2020. Te Wharekura o Maniapoto: Kura ā-Iwi - educating the community. 7 7 In: Hutchings J, Smith J ed. Te Mahi Oneone Hua Parakore: a Māori soil sovereignty and wellbeing handbook. Christchurch, New Zealand, Freerange Press. Pp. 106-121
Lyver PO, Ruru J, Scott N, Tylianakis JM, Arnold J, Malinen SK, Bataille CY, Herse MR, Jones CJ, Gormley AM, Peltzer DA, Taura Y, Timoti P, Stone C, Wilcox M, Moller H 2019. Building biocultural approaches into Aotearoa - New Zealand's conservation future. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand 49(3): 394-411. WOS:000487530400008 https://doi.org/10.1080/03036758.2018.1539405
Taura Y, Duggan I 2017. Impacts of willow and willow control on zooplankton. In: Taura Y, van Schravendijk-Goodman C, Clarkson B ed. Te reo o te repo, the voice of the wetland: connections, understandings and learnings for the restoration of our wetlands. Hamilton, New Zealand, Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research and Waikato Raupatu River Trust. Pp. 129–134
Taura Y, van Schravendijk-Goodman C, Clarkson B ed. 2017. Te reo o te repo, the voice of the wetland: connections, understandings and learnings for the restoration of our wetlands. Hamilton, New Zealand, Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research and Waikato Raupatu River Trust. 201 p.
Taura YM, Duggan IC 2020. The relative effects of willow invasion, willow control and hydrology on wetland zooplankton assemblages. Wetlands 40(6): 2585-2595. WOS:000566053400002 https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-020-01359-5
Memberships
- Board Member - Sponsorship Delegate, House of Science Central Waikato