{"title": "Reconnecting Northland", "website": "https://www.reconnectingnorthland.org.nz", "createdAt": 1729486803694, "credentials": {}, "description": "Reconnecting Northland: Catalyzing Community-Led Regeneration \n\nSpanning 2.5 million acres by 2050, Reconnecting Northland supports remote communities in achieving sustainable environmental regeneration, enhancing biodiversity, and promoting economic vitality and social well-being. Northland boasts the highest biodiversity in Aotearoa New Zealand, but the region faces severe species decline, among the highest globally. By empowering communities with the right knowledge, tools, and resources, we enable them to lead the socio-ecological transformation through regenerative local economies. We believe in catalyzing the changes needed for our communities to become resilient and flourish in harmony with the natural environment. \n\nFounded in 2012 with support from the Tindall Foundation and Foundation North, Reconnecting Northland Trust has evolved from a connectivity conservation model to a community-led initiative tailored to Northland's socio-cultural and socio-economic realities. Over seven years, we’ve refined our practice to champion community-led action, rooted in indigenous principles. We support long-term aspirations by fostering relationships and providing tools, financing, and resources, collaborating with like-minded organizations to create unified, community-tailored plans. Our team of seven staff and six kairaranga (community coordinators) actively supports communities to deliver landscape-scale initiatives, currently working with 14 groups across Northland. \n\nWith over 50% of our team and our CEO being indigenous Māori, and more than 80% of our community interactions being with Māori groups, Reconnecting Northland is deeply rooted in indigenous leadership. We embrace Te Ao Mārama—a Māori worldview that fosters clarity, connectedness, and harmony with nature—guiding our work toward ecological regeneration. Achieving Te Ao Mārama requires integrating indigenous knowledge, western science, local expertise, and self-awareness to ensure best practices emerge. \n\nAt the core of our strategy is elevating the Māori worldview as a catalyst for regeneration across Northland. We weave indigenous knowledge into ecological, financial, and human regeneration practices, building a framework that supports community-led socio-ecological action. Reconnecting Northland functions as a Connectivity Catalyst, seed-funding communities to become investment-ready while connecting them to tools and resources that accelerate change and build capability. Our work promotes nature-based enterprises to reduce reliance on grants, fostering regenerative revenue streams. \n\nAfter seven years of refining our approach, we are seeking benefactors to help us scale our activities. We’ve helped communities across entire catchments develop 100-year visions and action plans, rapidly building on-the-ground capability. Our communities are ready to effectively deploy the capital required for intergenerational socio-ecological change. \n\nOur strategy, shaped by lessons from our Tapere (large landscape initiative), addresses barriers like siloed, short-term competitive funding and limited access to support services. Our two core projects—Connectivity Partnership (syndicated investment supporting Catchment Action Plans) and Te Kete Hononga (streamlined support for local capability building)—are designed to overcome these challenges. \n\nGrowing local capability and creating job opportunities to allow people to return to their ancestral lands is essential for community-led regeneration. Over the past seven years, we’ve listened carefully to communities, who have told us what resources, connections, funding, and training they need. In response, we developed and successfully trialed Te Kete Hononga, which weaves together tailored support packages to realize community-led initiatives while building resilience through trusted Kairaranga (community facilitators). \n\nThe profound success of the Te Kete Hononga trial has proven that our community-led model for regeneration works—and now, we are ready to take the next bold step. To scale our impact across Northland and beyond, we need visionary partners to join us. By securing syndicated investment, we can rapidly expand Te Kete Hononga, accelerating the growth of capability and capacity within communities. This investment will empower local people to lead the socio-ecological transformation, creating resilient ecosystems, strong local economies, and a blueprint for global change. Together, we can catalyze a future where people and nature thrive. \n\nLearn more about our journey at www.ReconnectingNorthland.org.nz or watch our story unfold here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WDZ6BNE99Y&t=1s", "projectGithub": ""}