Dr Huhana Smith, of Wellington, MNZM, for services to the environment
Dr Huhana Smith (Ngāti Tukorehe, Te Mateawa, Ngāti Rangitāwhia, Ngāti Kapumanawawhiti ki Kuku) is the head of Massey University’s School of Art, leading the largest Māori-led research project into climate change, with local iwi and hapu. She has led her team to work with Māori land and farm-owners and used their ancestral knowledge and whakapapa to improve understanding of climate change. She was part of the Deep South Challenge Vision Mātauranga science programme, looking at how climate change would affect Māori primary industries, tourism and taonga. Dr Smith was elected as co-chair of Horizons Climate Action, tasked with addressing the impact of climate change in Manawatū and the surrounding areas.