Come hear from Dr Heke about repurposing ancient Māori environmental knowledge into contemporary environmental sustainability, health and well-being. Atua Matua is a framework rooted in mātauranga Māori environmental knowledge that explores connections between environment and health.

The framework has five pillars:

• Environmental Knowledge – Matauranga

• Maori Localised Environmental Connections – Whakapapa

• Communicating Environmental Knowledge – Huahuatau

• Activities to Mobilise Atua Matua thinking – Whakatinanatanga

• Environmental Signs as a decision making function – Tohutaka

Dr Heke’s upbringing was in the South Island of New Zealand, where he experienced the rare opportunity to live and work in the alpine environs of Queenstown in winter and the Milford Sound national park area in summer. Building on significant experience gained in the outdoors, Dr Heke obtained academic qualifications including a PhD in population health and more recently, a post graduate diploma in Environmental Management.

Dr Heke writes research for institutes as varied as Johns Hopkins Medical University in Baltimore through to physical activity systems for the University of Otago in New Zealand. Currently, Dr Heke’s most significant role is consulting directly to Google. The data collection giant has contracted Dr Heke to address unconscious bias by ensuring Indigenous knowledge is included in the development of artificial intelligence for the future.