Te Urewera Livelihoods Expo, Tāneatua - Annual Report 2024

1 July, 2025

We were privileged to be invited by Tūhoe (through their connection with Principal Investigator Professor Derek Kawiti) to deliver outreach and an evening talk at Te Urewera Livelihoods Expo 2024, the kaupapa of which was to re-engage the people of Te Urewera with their whenua and spark imagination for the future.

Principal Investigator Professor Geoff Willmott, Associate Investigator Dr Charlie Ruffman, Discovery Scholar and Paihau-Robinson Research Institute Materials Technician Tane Butler, and Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington PhD student Lara Browne joined Derek at Tāneatua in mid-May.

Lara Browne and Tane Butler running outreach activities at Te Urewera Livelihoods Expo 2024

Tane and Lara ran a 'build a berry solar panel' activity (kindly provided by Associate Investigator Dr Nate Davis). Charlie, Lara and Tane showcased a water electrolyser run by a (slightly bigger) solar panel, and Tane shared information on using harakeke membranes to filter water while Derek demonstrated his 3D printing. Attendance at the Expo across the two days included 13 schools, with a total of 250 students plus 30-40 teachers.

Geoff gave a 15-minute evening presentation to around 200 whānau members and 50 kaimahi/helpers, around increasing prosperity for Aotearoa New Zealand in a sustainable way through advanced materials and nanotechnology.

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