Water exists around us like loose change – unappreciated, undervalued, and unseen until we need it. Yet water continues to sustain every part of life. Take the freshwater that flows through a river. This ever-changing supply of water sustains the life of the riverbanks, riverbeds, and river itself. The water is not ‘ours’, nor will it ever be. But it selfishly remains in our best interests to protect the health of water for the sake of our own health and anything else reliant on the water, both human and nonhuman.

I am both fortunate and honoured to be the recipient of the Wakefield Scholarship at Christ Church. The scholarship is endowed by the UK Wakefield Trust, and I am the first recipient of the scholarship since it was converted into a Master's Course Degree Scholarship. The scholarship is exclusively for graduates of The University of Canterbury (in Christchurch, NZ). Moreover, I am the first Ngai Tahu scholar to be educated at the House (the Ngai Tahu is the Maori tribe of The South Island of NZ, in the centre of which lie the city of Christchurch and the province of Canterbury). 

It is at the House that I have entered conversations with international water experts who have shared an incredible wealth of knowledge. However, I’m often still met with a sense of confusion when I describe my research to others – "you study … water"? To be more specific, I’m interested in cyanobacteria. They are often termed ‘blue-green algae’ or ‘toxic algae’. These bacteria are an essential part of a healthy ecosystem and look fascinating under a microscope. They provide food, habitat, and resources for other life, albeit a lot smaller than us. But when humans are involved, as is often the case, things can take a turn. We pollute waterways through agricultural activities, urban pollution, and the discharge of sewage. These ‘pollutants’ provide the essential resources that cyanobacteria need to proliferate at a massive scale and lead to algal blooms.

Given the choice, it’s unlikely that you would swim amid a toxic algal bloom. There’s a reason it’s labelled ‘toxic’. However, the effect of these events lingers far beyond our perception and lives. Dangerous compounds and toxins can remain even after the blooms. The organisms directly or indirectly reliant on the water suffer too. We also need to move beyond anthropocentrism and consider more holistic and relational views of nature. Mountains and rivers can exist as powerful beings who we descend from as demonstrated through Te Ao Māori (the Māori worldview). In other words, we also have a duty to treat our ancestors with respect if not for altruistic motivations.

There has recently been more research on the degradation of waterways as people are undoubtedly concerned. But many unknowns persist. What can we do to promote a healthy ecosystem? When does cyanobacteria become a problem? Who or what does cyanobacteria effect? How should we respond? These are all relevant questions to answer.

The generations that follow us will be living from, in, with, and as water in whatever state we leave it in. If we cannot appreciate water for ourselves, for anything which relies on it, or even for its own mana (ancestral prestige), we should at the very least respect water for those yet to come.

Mō tatou, ā, mō kā uri ā muri ake nei

For us and our children after us.