This thesis explores resilience of flax root (community) practitioners engaged at policy intersection facing mana taiao (natural environments) in Aotearoa, New Zealand. It captures community practitioner stories through interviews enabling shared experience of examples where practitioners’ have resolved policy areas encountered during project delivery as consultants, employees, volunteers, family and/or community representatives. Participants are six females and three males of mixed ethnic backgrounds; Māori, Samoan and Pakeha/European involved in a diverse range of projects ranging from taiao resources affecting the Arts, Tohunga (traditional Māori medicine practitioner), Kaitiaki (carers of the environment) and business owners. In the week before the interview each participant was given a set of questions. Interviews were recorded using video and email. Results suggested there are a) Cost challenges facing individuals preventing e.g. appeal to Environment Court through the Resource Management Act (1990) and b) Solutions through the Town and Country Act to enable more equitable participation in policy related to the environmental management of Aotearoa and c) Connecting frameworks from Tiriti o Waitangi and Te Whakaputanga in discussion with indigenous models highlighting misaligned policy intersections. Results are discussed in terms of the challenges practitioners experienced and successes in their work and in terms of the experienced disassociation of constitutional policy in Aotearoa, New Zealand.