I speak to Helen and Rowan Aish in this episode. Mother and son and long time Muriwai residents, Helen and Rowan work in mental health and provided mental health care and support to the Muriwai community after Cyclone Gabrielle.

We talk about meetings set up for the community to give people tools for dealing with this traumatic event, offering counselling support, supporting children through this period by using play therapy and providing a safe place for them to talk

Helen discusses the helpfulness of EDM treatment, supporting people with the impact on relationships, and parent concerns for their children’s mental health.

Rowan emphasises the importance of providing community spaces for people to talk, the research he did to support the work and creating helpful resources and workshops.

And both Helen and Rowan share their reflections, observations and great mental health advice for parents, couples and individuals who have been impacted by a traumatic event.

Precipice launched on July 20th 2026. 3 seasons will be released across 4 weeks and then the full series of 26 episodes will be available for you to listen to at your leisure.

Season 1: Cyclone Gabrielle Hits Muriwai

Season 2: Disaster Recovery and Community Restoration

Season 3: Community Initiatives after a Cyclone

Listen on You Tube https://www.youtube.com/@precipicepodcast

Follow on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/precipicepodcast

Hosted and produced by Mandy Jakich. Commissioned and funded by Muriwai Community Association, supported by the Auckland Council Recovery Office.

In this episode I speak with Zac Bogdan. Zac talks about his role as the coordinator of Scars On The Land, a project instigated by MCA and the MET after the cyclone, to replant the exposed land of the demolished and removed houses with locally raised native trees. He explains how this project works and the goals for the planting

Zac shares his experience and challenges of being ordered to evacuate his house in Domain Crescent that was completely unharmed and not being able to return to his home for 7 ½ months.

He talks about insurance support for temporary accommodation and future cover and how it felt to finally return to his home in Muriwai.

Precipice launched on July 20th 2026. 3 seasons will be released across 4 weeks and then the full series of 26 episodes will be available for you to listen to at your leisure.

Season 1: Cyclone Gabrielle Hits Muriwai

Season 2: Disaster Recovery and Community Restoration

Season 3: Community Initiatives after a Cyclone

Listen on You Tube https://www.youtube.com/@precipicepodcast

Follow on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/precipicepodcast

Hosted and produced by Mandy Jakich. Commissioned and funded by Muriwai Community Association, supported by the Auckland Council Recovery Office.

In this episode I speak with Maggie Brott. Maggie was involved in the initial communications and organisation for the community after the cyclone through the creation of a Facebook Group, an email contact, a website and spreadsheets coordinating spaces, queries and outside assistance as well as donated food and supplies.

Maggie talks about sourcing skills from different people and the power of delegating, connecting with people, the changes and developments she has seen in Muriwai since the cyclone and how the event affected her emotionally.

She explains how her role with the census for the cordoned community in the cyclone recovery time allowed her to check in on people, talk to her neighbours and do surreptitious wellness checks.

Precipice launched on July 20th 2026. 3 seasons will be released across 4 weeks and then the full series of 26 episodes will be available for you to listen to at your leisure.

Season 1: Cyclone Gabrielle Hits Muriwai

Season 2: Disaster Recovery and Community Restoration

Season 3: Community Initiatives after a Cyclone

Listen on You Tube https://www.youtube.com/@precipicepodcast

Follow on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/precipicepodcast

Hosted and produced by Mandy Jakich. Commissioned and funded by Muriwai Community Association, supported by the Auckland Council Recovery Office.

Mette Hay joins me in this episode. Mette is an artist/designer and Muriwai resident. Her art practice explores the visualisation of soundscapes, both natural and voice

Mette talks about an artistic activation she created for the community after the cyclone at a gathering at the surf club, using voices of the community.

Mette talks about the fundraising initiatives that were taken to support the sculpture project.

The community voices soundscapes created from this collaborative activation were then used for Jeff Thomson’s commemorative sculpture, covering one side of one of the pou or pillars. Mette shares the process for producing the soundscapes on to materials sourced from the homes that were to be demolished, the screen printing process and her interest in the natural weathering of the work over time.

Precipice launched on July 20th 2026. 3 seasons will be released across 4 weeks and then the full series of 26 episodes will be available for you to listen to at your leisure.

Season 1: Cyclone Gabrielle Hits Muriwai

Season 2: Disaster Recovery and Community Restoration

Season 3: Community Initiatives after a Cyclone

Listen on You Tube https://www.youtube.com/@precipicepodcast

Follow on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/precipicepodcast

Hosted and produced by Mandy Jakich. Commissioned and funded by Muriwai Community Association, supported by the Auckland Council Recovery Office.

Joss Hong has lived in Muriwai for 30 years and was an integral part of the collaborative community initiatives after Cyclone Gabrielle.

Joss talks about setting up and managing the food hub set up at the surf club in Muriwai after the cyclone, the organisation and distribution of clothing donations and setting up the ‘locals lounge’ in the surf club to provide a comfortable nurturing place for locals to come together.

She explains the goals and management of 3 community workshops she activated at the surf club in the recovery period. ‘Love Letters to Muriwai’ and the ‘Viewing Frame’ and ‘Mosaic workshops’ which contributed to the commemorative sculpture.

And Joss shares her observations since the cyclone and suggestions to other communities.

Precipice launched on July 20th 2026. 3 seasons will be released across 4 weeks and then the full series of 26 episodes will be available for you to listen to at your leisure.

Season 1: Cyclone Gabrielle Hits Muriwai

Season 2: Disaster Recovery and Community Restoration

Season 3: Community Initiatives after a Cyclone

Listen on You Tube https://www.youtube.com/@precipicepodcast

Follow on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/precipicepodcast

Hosted and produced by Mandy Jakich. Commissioned and funded by Muriwai Community Association, supported by the Auckland Council Recovery Office.

In this episode I talk to Aotearoa NZ artist Jeff Thomson, who was commissioned by the community to create a cyclone gabrielle commemorative public sculpture for Muriwai.

We talk about considerations made by Jeff and his team when designing and building the sculpture such as intention, audience, location and design development as well as lighting, placement, materials and scale.

Jeff shares the challenges and highlights of the project, the community response . We discuss the building consent process, the naming, blessing, hikoi and official opening and the importance of working with local iwi as well as collaboratively with the local community.

Precipice launched on July 20th 2026. 3 seasons will be released across 4 weeks and then the full series of 26 episodes will be available for you to listen to at your leisure.

Season 1: Cyclone Gabrielle Hits Muriwai

Season 2: Disaster Recovery and Community Restoration

Season 3: Community Initiatives after a Cyclone

Listen on You Tube https://www.youtube.com/@precipicepodcast

Follow on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/precipicepodcast

Hosted and produced by Mandy Jakich. Commissioned and funded by Muriwai Community Association, supported by the Auckland Council Recovery Office.

Mike Alexander joins me in this episode. Mike is a Muriwai resident who is based in Auckland city during the week. He is a partner in an Auckland law firm, Heimsath Alexander, which helped with the formation of a charitable trust to coordinate and distribute financial donations after Cyclone Gabrielle.

Mike explains the process of setting up this trust, receiving and administering funds, registering the trust, finding a chairperson and trustees, getting it approved as a charity with the IRD, communicating with the community, creating a website, identifying the people in need, creating a workable assessment model, distributing the funds, preserving funds, verifying people and bank accounts, criteria to be eligible for grants, working with other community leaders, and working with an accountant firm.

Mike describes the goals for this trust and where the trust is now 3 years on.

Precipice launched on July 20th 2026. 3 seasons will be released across 4 weeks and then the full series of 26 episodes will be available for you to listen to at your leisure.

Season 1: Cyclone Gabrielle Hits Muriwai

Season 2: Disaster Recovery and Community Restoration

Season 3: Community Initiatives after a Cyclone

Listen on You Tube https://www.youtube.com/@precipicepodcast

Follow on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/precipicepodcast

Hosted and produced by Mandy Jakich. Commissioned and funded by Muriwai Community Association, supported by the Auckland Council Recovery Office.

Erin Griffin is my guest in today’s episode. Erin has lived in Muriwai for 41 years, was a member of the trust that owns and operates the surf club at the time of Cyclone Gabrielle, and was very involved in many of the community initiatives taken throughout the restoration process.

Erin talks about the processes developed for providing accommodation for displaced families, coordinating donations, the formation of a charitable trust to store and disperse financial donations and the importance of gathering as a community

She passes on great advice for communities and explains the changes Muriwai has made in preparation for another potential event,

Erin explains how the community sourced and applied for funding, how the event affected her and her view of weather and land in Aotearoa.

Precipice launched on July 20th 2026. 3 seasons will be released across 4 weeks and then the full series of 26 episodes will be available for you to listen to at your leisure.

Season 1: Cyclone Gabrielle Hits Muriwai

Season 2: Disaster Recovery and Community Restoration

Season 3: Community Initiatives after a Cyclone

Listen on You Tube https://www.youtube.com/@precipicepodcast

Follow on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/precipicepodcast

Hosted and produced by Mandy Jakich. Commissioned and funded by Muriwai Community Association, supported by the Auckland Council Recovery Office.