Ngā Here - The Many Connections

In Central Otago, James, Waiora, and Andrew meet Anna Yeoman, a writer and conservationist whose unexpected love for geckos and skinks grew into years of volunteering, research, and eventually a book. Together they visit Mokomoko Dryland Sanctuary near Alexandra, a predator-free haven where endangered lizards have a fighting chance at survival.

Anna introduces them to some Otago skinks and then the team reflect on the story of Noah’s ark and God’s ongoing commitment to life and flourishing. Even in the midst of extinction threats and human-modified landscapes, the sanctuary becomes a living parable — a reminder that God has not given up on creation.

You can explore more of Anna’s work in her book Geckos & Skinks of Aotearoa New Zealand.

Ngā Here: the many connections between Creation, the Bible, and living in Aotearoa.

In this episode of Ngā Here, the team travels into the breathtaking Makarora Valley.

Along the way, they reflect on stories of ancestral journeys, and the impacts of human land modification — from Foulden Maar to the Clyde Dam.

James, Waiora, and Andrew then turn to the story of Noah in Genesis 6–9 and ask what it has to say about our world today. Together they wrestle with the uncomfortable parts of the text — God’s grief, human violence, and the flood — and explore what it means to desecrate creation, and how living out of right relationship with God, each other, and the land might still offer hope. 

It’s a kōrero that moves from judgment to lament, and from lament to the possibility of hope-filled action.

Ngā Here: the many connections between Creation, the Bible, and living in Aotearoa.

We kick off Season Four of Ngā Here in Ōtepoti Dunedin – and our first stop takes us deep into the earth’s memory. James, Waiora, and Andrew sit down with Professor Daphne Lee, a geologist whose work with ancient fossil forests and sites like Foulden Maar has revealed extraordinary stories from millions of years ago.

Together we explore deep time, wonder, and whakapapa – from fossilised leaves that tell the story of past climates, to the hope and responsibility we carry as stewards of creation today. Along the way we talk about cynicism, denial, distraction, and ignorance – and the possibility of another path: lament, hope, and action.

Ngā Here: the many connections between Creation, the Bible, and living in Aotearoa.

Before we launch into season four of Ngā Here, we’re pausing to reflect with this special episode. James sits down with Associate Professor John Stenhouse in his office at Ōtakou Whakaihu Waka - The University of Otago for a wide-ranging kōrero about science, settlers, and how those things are connected to colonisation in Aotearoa.

From Darwin’s Origin of Species arriving just as the New Zealand Wars erupted, to the way “progress” became a powerful myth shaping land use and politics, John traces how science was both weaponised and resisted in our shared history. Along the way, we meet governors, bishops, journalists, and scientists – and hear how their choices still shape the way we see the world today.

This episode links the themes of season three to where we’re heading in season four – exploring the connections between science, faith, colonisation, and the land beneath our feet.

Ngā Here - exploring the many connections between Creation, the Bible, and living in Aotearoa.

E aku nui, e aku rahi, e aku rau rangatira mā, tēnā rā tatou katoa, and welcome to the final episode of season three of Ngā Here.

For the first couple of seasons of Ngā Here, we went to a secluded hut on Te Pataka o Rakaihautū -  Banks Peninsular so that we could be surrounded by ngahere to talk about Ngā Here - the many connections and the many questions that so many of us have. 

Questions like what does the bible have to say about the state of our planet? How do we live faithfully in a nation that is working through the impacts of colonisation? How is the Church called to respond to our aching world?

As we talked we realised that our land, our whenua has more stories to tell us, and that we would need to go on a haerenga to pay attention to those stories and hear what the whenua is trying to say to us.

So this season we decided to travel from Te Puke to Taranaki, to listen to the land, to hear it’s groans, and to see what the Spirit might be saying to us through the painful history of our whenua.

Ngā Here - The Many Connections is a project funded by The Wilberforce Foundation in partnership with A Rocha Aotearoa. Produced by me, James Beck, with creative direction from the Revered Spanky Moore and production assistance from Andrew Shepherd.  Our music was created by the wonderful Chris Williams - check him out on Spotify. Follow Ngā Here on social media to stay in the loop, or give us a review and a rating on Apple podcasts so other people can find this kaupapa too.

E aku nui, e aku rahi, e aku rau rangatira mā, tēnā rā tatou katoa, and welcome to the sixth episode of season three of Ngā Here.

For the first couple of seasons of Ngā Here, we went to a secluded hut on Te Pataka o Rakaihautū -  Banks Peninsular so that we could be surrounded by ngahere to talk about Ngā Here - the many connections and the many questions that so many of us have. 

Questions like what does the bible have to say about the state of our planet? How do we live faithfully in a nation that is working through the impacts of colonisation? How is the Church called to respond to our aching world?

As we talked we realised that our land, our whenua has more stories to tell us, and that we would need to go on a haerenga to pay attention to those stories and hear what the whenua is trying to say to us.

So this season we decided to travel from Te Puke to Taranaki, to listen to the land, to hear it’s groans, and to see what the Spirit might be saying to us through the painful history of our whenua.

In this episode, we are joined by Very Reverend Jay Ruka - (Te Āti Awa, Ngāti Mutunga, Ngāti Koata, Ngā Puhi) - Dean of Mere Tapu to discuss the possibility of reconciliation.

Ngā Here - The Many Connections is a project funded by The Wilberforce Foundation in partnership with A Rocha Aotearoa. Produced by me, James Beck, with creative direction from the Revered Spanky Moore and production assistance from Andrew Shepherd.  Our music was created by the wonderful Chris Williams - check him out on Spotify. Follow Ngā Here on social media to stay in the loop, or give us a review and a rating on Apple podcasts so other people can find this kaupapa too.

E aku nui, e aku rahi, e aku rau rangatira mā, tēnā rā tatou katoa, and welcome to the fith episode of season three of Ngā Here.

For the first couple of seasons of Ngā Here, we went to a secluded hut on Te Pataka o Rakaihautū -  Banks Peninsular so that we could be surrounded by ngahere to talk about Ngā Here - the many connections and the many questions that so many of us have. 

Questions like what does the bible have to say about the state of our planet? How do we live faithfully in a nation that is working through the impacts of colonisation? How is the Church called to respond to our aching world?

As we talked we realised that our land, our whenua has more stories to tell us, and that we would need to go on a haerenga to pay attention to those stories and hear what the whenua is trying to say to us.

So this season we decided to travel from Te Puke to Taranaki, to listen to the land, to hear it’s groans, and to see what the Spirit might be saying to us through the painful history of our whenua.

In this episode, we are joined by Te Waka McLeod - (Ngāti Mutunga, Te Atiawa, Te Ātihaunui a Papārangi) - to discuss how we are shaped by the whenua.

Ngā Here - The Many Connections is a project funded by The Wilberforce Foundation in partnership with A Rocha Aotearoa. Produced by me, James Beck, with creative direction from the Revered Spanky Moore and production assistance from Andrew Shepherd.  Our music was created by the wonderful Chris Williams - check him out on Spotify. Follow Ngā Here on social media to stay in the loop, or give us a review and a rating on Apple podcasts so other people can find this kaupapa too.

E aku nui, e aku rahi, e aku rau rangatira mā, tēnā rā tatou katoa, and welcome to the forth episode of season three of Ngā Here.

For the first couple of seasons of Ngā Here, we went to a secluded hut on Te Pataka o Rakaihautū -  Banks Peninsular so that we could be surrounded by ngahere to talk about Ngā Here - the many connections and the many questions that so many of us have. 

Questions like what does the bible have to say about the state of our planet? How do we live faithfully in a nation that is working through the impacts of colonisation? How is the Church called to respond to our aching world?

As we talked we realised that our land, our whenua has more stories to tell us, and that we would need to go on a haerenga to pay attention to those stories and hear what the whenua is trying to say to us.

So this season we decided to travel from Te Puke to Taranaki, to listen to the land, to hear it’s groans, and to see what the Spirit might be saying to us through the painful history of our whenua.

In this episode, we are joined by Tereora Crane - Senior Education Specialist at The National Library - to discuss the Waikato wars and the sacking of Rangiaowhia.

Ngā Here - The Many Connections is a project funded by The Wilberforce Foundation in partnership with A Rocha Aotearoa. Produced by me, James Beck, with creative direction from the Revered Spanky Moore and production assistance from Andrew Shepherd.  Our music was created by the wonderful Chris Williams - check him out on Spotify. Follow Ngā Here on social media to stay in the loop, or give us a review and a rating on Apple podcasts so other people can find this kaupapa too.

E aku nui, e aku rahi, e aku rau rangatira mā, tēnā rā tatou katoa, and welcome to the third episode of season three of Ngā Here.

For the first couple of seasons of Ngā Here, we went to a secluded hut on Te Pataka o Rakaihautū -  Banks Peninsular so that we could be surrounded by ngahere to talk about Ngā Here - the many connections and the many questions that so many of us have. 

Questions like what does the bible have to say about the state of our planet?, how do we live faithfully in a nation that is working through the impacts of colonisation?, and how is the Church called to respond to our aching world?

As we talked we realised that our land, our whenua has more stories to tell us, and that we would need to go on a haerenga to pay attention to those stories and hear what the whenua is trying to say to us.

So this season we decided to travel from Te Puke to Taranaki, to listen to the land, to hear it’s groans, and to see what the Spirit might be saying to us through the painful history of our whenua

Ngā Here - The Many Connections is a project funded by The Wilberforce Foundation in partnership with A Rocha Aotearoa. Produced by me, James Beck, with creative direction from the Revered Spanky Moore and production assistance from Andrew Shepherd.  Our music was created by the wonderful Chris Williams - check him out on Spotify. Follow Ngā Here on social media to stay in the loop, or give us a review and a rating on Apple podcasts so other people can find this kaupapa too.

E aku nui, e aku rahi, e aku rau rangatira mā, tēnā rā tatou katoa, and welcome to the second episode of season three of Ngā Here.

For the first couple of seasons of Ngā Here, we went to a secluded hut on Te Pataka o Rakaihautū -  Banks Peninsular so that we could be surrounded by ngahere to talk about Ngā Here - the many connections and the many questions that so many of us have. 

Questions like what does the bible have to say about the state of our planet?, how do we live faithfully in a nation that is working through the impacts of colonisation?, and how is the Church called to respond to our aching world?

As we talked we realised that our land, our whenua has more stories to tell us, and that we would need to go on a haerenga to pay attention to those stories and hear what the whenua is trying to say to us.

So this season we decided to travel from Te Puke to Taranaki, to listen to the land, to hear it’s groans, and to see what the Spirit might be saying to us through the painful history of our whenua

In this episode, we are joined by Dr Alistair Reese - farmer, historian and public theologian - to explore the complex story of the colonisation of Aotearoa.

Ngā Here - The Many Connections is a project funded by The Wilberforce Foundation in partnership with A Rocha Aotearoa. Produced by me, James Beck, with creative direction from the Revered Spanky Moore and production assistance from Andrew Shepherd.  Our music was created by the wonderful Chris Williams - check him out on Spotify. Follow Ngā Here on social media to stay in the loop, or give us a review and a rating on Apple podcasts so other people can find this kaupapa too.