This paper explores a range of face-to-face and online communities of practice (CoP) that are used to support groups of learners or mentors at degree and diploma levels using Independent Learning Programmes at Otago Polytechnic's Capable NZ. The six writers each create a narrative linking the purpose of specific CoPs to their observable outcomes. The narratives demonstrate such CoP features as mutual engagement, joint enterprise and shared repertoire. The value of the CoPs, over and above uniting colleagues in times of disruption, is outlined in each narrative of practice. Ahi kä ki uta, ahi kä ki tai, kia horahorahia, purapura o ahi kä | Let your home fires be seen inland, let your home fires be seen along the coast, and may the sparks from your fires rise up and be seen throughout the world. Capable NZ is a college of work based-learning within Otago Polytechnic, New Zealand. Established as the Centre of Recognition of Prior Learning, one key focus is to work with experienced candidates who gain qualifications through an Independent Learning Pathway (ILP) which uses prior experiences to frame new learning through reflection. Ker (2017) interviewed graduates, concluding that many Capable NZ learners benefit from engagement in communities of practice in their professional contexts (Ker, 2017). It is logical, then, for community of practice pedagogies, with their capacity to embed resilience in times of disruption (Andrew, 2020, forthcoming), to inform the learner experience. Malcolm (2020, this issue) describes their value in one such programme, the Bachelor of Leadership for Change. In such contexts of work-based learning, where learning from reflecting on, in and for practice is key (Schön, 1987), CoPs become valuable sites for the exploration of facets of learning and teaching from practice for both learners and for their mentors.

Ko te pae tawhiti whāia kia tata, ko te pae tata whakamua kia tina Seek to bring distant horizons closer, to sustain and maintain those that have arrived MIHI AcknowledgementsWe wish to appropriately honour the eight Mäori research participants that shared their wisdom, knowledge and time with us. Your unique experiences and voices are central to this research and to enhancing and shaping a more responsive postgraduate programme for future Mäori learners. Also, a big mihi to Janine Kapa and her team at the Kaitohutohu Office of Mäori Development at Otago Polytechnic, for their ability to keep the waka moving forward, through sometimes choppy waters. Your positive leadership and relentless focus on supporting and advancing Mäori learners to achieve educational success as Mäori is of significant importance. Kä mihi aroha ki a koutou katoa.

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This paper traces the peacebuilding efforts of Anne Te Maihāora Dodds (Waitaha) in her North Otago community over the last twenty-five years.

In Aotearoa New Zealand, retracing the footsteps of famous Maori tipuna or ancestral trails is not a new phenomena, but the availability of social media has enabled this information more accessible, reaching a wider audience.  Events span from retracing tribal battles, following ancestral mountain trails to the moana and beyond. One such voyage, involved a group of 50 students from Tauranga Moana, who retraced their ancestral connections of the Takitimu waka back to Rarotonga (Te Kanawa, 30 July 2016). The Commemoration of the Battle of Ruapekapeka also followed the footsteps of tipuna, the famous warrior chief Te Ruki Kawiti and his peoples, whose memories were honoured by a 400 strong haka party, dignitaries, politicians and hundreds of people,  (Forbes, 2016).  Following the journey of Tainui rangatira, was a pre-season bonding exercise that Waikato Chiefs rugby coach Dave Rennie identified as beneficial for his players to learn more about their surroundings ‘…an arduous two-day torture test which connected with the past, the land, the people and the sea they will represent this season’ (Napier, 2013).     Over the last three decades, there has also been an increasing interest in the histories of Māori prophets throughout Aotearoa.  The journey of children from Parihaka Pa was made into a documentary named Tatarakihi: The Children of Parihaka (2012), which followed the ancestral journey of their tipuna Te Whiti ō Rongomai and Tohu Kākahi (and their people), arrested in Parihaka Taranaki for ploughing their land and wrongfully imprisoned in Christchurch and Dunedin without trial (www.parihakafilm.com; https://www.nzonscreen.com). The Tamakaimoana people also undertook a pilgrimage in December 2013 to retrace the footsteps of their prophet Rua Kenana from Maungapōhatu (Te Karere, April 4 2016).    Several Gisborne iwi recently retraced the route from Gisborne to the Rēkohu Chatham Islands following their prophet Te Kooti Arikirangi (Smith, 2016).  Retracing the footsteps of ancestors is not only a physical undertaking, but for many, also an emotional, cultural and spiritual journey.   The Waitaha People of Te Waipounamu South Island, retraced Te Maihāroa (? – 1885) and Te Heke (The Migration 1877-79) on a contemporary peace walk called Te Heke Omaramataka (2012).  The experiences of these trekkers were captured by filmmaker Bronwyn Judge in a free to view documentary entitled ‘Te Heke 2012 Waitaki Mouth to Omarama’ (Judge, B, 2012, Youtube: Te Heke 2012 Waitaki Mouth to Omarama).   This paper is based on the whanau journals recorded by participants as they trekked from the Waitaki river mouth to Omarama in December 2012.