Dr Rachael Glassey is a Senior Research Fellow in the newly created Te Kura I Awarua Rangahau Māori Centre at EIT | Te Pūkenga.
Rachael, 33, joined EIT | Te Pūkenga last year to work on a community research project, Nourishing Hawke’s Bay: He wairua tō te kai. She has since been appointed a Senior Research Fellow in the newly created Te Kura I Awarua Rangahau Māori Centre at EIT | Te Pūkenga.
Dr Glassey is presently working as part of a research team continuing its exploration of food security, health and wellbeing for children in Hawke’s Bay which includes a lot of work centred around the Ministry of Education’s healthy school lunch programme; Ka Ora, Ka Ako and extends further into wider food ecosystem issues. The team is led by Principal Investigators, Professor David Tipene-Leach and Professor Boyd Swinburn. The continuation of the project is thanks to a groScience Challenge, which falls under the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE). The continuation of the project is thanks to a ground-breaking two-year research grant from A Better Start E Tipu e Rea National Science Challenge.
“It’s really important to have a grant like this to do some research and hopefully find ways we can improve life for our kids in Hawke’s Bay.”
Rachael says there are a number of layers to the project, starting with schools and principals who were part of the original Nourishing Hawke’s Bay project.
“This was done in conjunction with the community as a way to try to make some immediate difference for children. An important part of this research is the incorporation of mātauranga Māori. One of our goals is to create a regional food roadmap which will be a collaboration with everyone in Hawke’s Bay who is involved in the food system, including schools, whānau, growers and food rescues.”
Click here to learn more about the team in Hawkes Bay and their mahi.
– Picture credit and original story from – EIT | Te Pūkenga,
