2022 - August

Kia ora Whanau


 I hope everyone is doing well. 
 
This is an update about what is happening with the Wetlands right now.

The Trustees are investigating how  we can restore and enhance our Wetlands and an important first step in this process is to confirm that we can reintroduce water to the wetland and not cause any adverse effects.

For more than a year the Trustees have been consulting with Andrew Craig and Dr Jack McConchie (hydrology and hydrogeology specialists) and Nick Goldwater (ecologist)

 What the Wetlands mean to Aotearoa

As you know, Wetlands are a crucial  part of New Zealand's  ecology.  They not only reduce flooding but they are the habitat for thousands of endangered species.  

Over 90% of Wetlands have been destroyed in New Zealand and with the global climate crisis changing weather patterns around the world we need to do our part to restore our natural environment.

We have been in discussions with Horizons Regional Council to understand the type of data we need to collect and analyse.  

Andrew and Jack have visited the Wetlands previously to check what is happening to develop their understanding of the stream and the wetland area. 


Their preliminary thinking is that the re-establishment of the water connection to wetland will help manage flooding of the stream as the wetland provides a place for water to go in flood particularly in common events, where the wetland will slow /delay the release of water.  
But we needed to check, to make sure that this is correct and to ensure that we are not missing anything. 


Walking the Wetlands

On Monday 21 August I along with Andrew Craig  Dr Jack Mc Conchie and Nick Goldwater went to the Wetlands to see what needs to be done and how we can accomplish it.  
We walked the entire Wetlands collecting the data  we need to complete the project.  

While we did this we  saw that there was other activity happening at the Wetlands that the Trust was not aware of.  

We found: 
  • spent shot gun shells, telling us that people has been hunting on the land.
  •   Poison that was laid for possums. 
  • Some drainage channels into the stream which had obviously been dug with heavy machinery. 
If anyone knows who is responsible for this please contact us.



Other concerns

The Trustees are still working on issues concerning our Bank Account.  Also access to the Wetlands with NZ Rail.

We have no plans to do any whanau planting at the Wetlands until the land is accessible and safe, and the chance of transmission of Covid 19 is manageable.

Nga mihinui
Johnny
Chairman