Te Waka Houora o te Ngahere: Mobilising for Action for Forest Health in Aotearoa, New Zealand

Abstract Native forests in Aotearoa/New Zealand are at significant risk from the plant diseases myrtle rust and kauri dieback. Mobilising for Action (MFA) was a four-year transdisciplinary research project exploring the social dimensions of these pathogens and forest health through social science, humanities, creative arts and mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge), with experts, artists, iwi/hapū (tribes/sub-tribes) and communities, empowering and supporting them in their efforts to address forest disease and promote forest health. A waka houora (double-hulled canoe) framework guided MFA to enable Western knowledge systems to operate alongside mātaurangā Māori, allowing for collaboration, cross-cultural learning and Indigenous empowerment through artistic research and related approaches. We propose that through various creative arts approaches, MFA built relationships and partnerships between Māori and other cultures, people and forests and disciplines, in addition to developing novel research methods in forest health through storytelling and narratives, offering new possibilities in critical forest studies and care.