Designing With Nature: Regenerative And Mātauranga Māori Pathways To Resilient Stormwater And Community Wellbeing.
This workshop introduces regenerative design practice and Te Ao Maori values and principles, with a strong focus on how these can transform stormwater management and the delivery of blue green networks. Drawing on examples from projects In Tamaki Makaurau, partiopants will explore how regenerative thinking can strengthen the stormwater industry’s ability to respond to climate, flooding, and community wellbeing challenges.
A short presentation will be followed by an interactive session where participants apply key regenerative frameworks and tools to stormwater specific scenarios. We will share practical examples from projects such as Te Ara Awataha, Te Whakaoranga o te Puhinui and Healthy Waters and Flood Resilience’s Blue green Network Programme, illustrating how place-sourced,culture-led and community-fed interventions improve flood performance, ecological, social and cultural outcomes, alongside improving urban resilience.
Designed to be engaging and collaborative, the session encourages cross disciplinary discussion and inspires participants to integrate and apply regenerative and matauranga Maori approaches into their stormwater and blue green network practice.
Flood Defences And National Consistency – The Stormwater Check-In
Over the past year, there has been growing national discussion about the case for consistency in how flood defences (stopbanks, floodwalls, etc.) are designed, managed, and regulated across New Zealand. That conversation now has strong momentum among key stakeholders. The question is no longer whether consistency is needed – it is HOW to achieve it
Flood defences are our SILENT PROTECTORS. They rarely attract attention when working, yet they underpin the safety of communities, critical infrastructure, and stormwater networks. They influence how flood risk is perceived, how water moves through cities, and the confidence communities place in protective systems. When stopbanks perform as expected, they are invisible; when they fail, the consequences are immediate and severe.
Despite this, flood defences are often treated as assets separate from stormwater systems. Decisions about design, performance, and protection levels directly influence stormwater assumptions. This workshop engages the stormwater community at a PIVOTAL moment – not to debate the need for consistency or prescribe solutions, but to understand:
- Where the stormwater industry’s stake lies.
- What stormwater practitioners need from consistent flood defence design.
- When retreat is the most appropriate outcome.
- How stormwater expertise can shape national consistency.
Too Much Water, Too Much Data: A Personas-Based Look At Flood Data Use
Flood modelling produces vast volumes of outputs, yet only a fraction of this information is published or used in practice. But who are the end users of flood data – and what information do they actually need to make decisions?
This workshop explores flood information needs through persona based lens, shifting the focus from what we can produce to what different users need to decide and act. Participants will unpack the wide range of flood data users – from planners and engineers to emergency managers, asset owners, and the public – and examine how their contexts and responsibilities shape their data requirements, focusing on identifying the information that each persona needs to support effective decision-making.