Teaming up for a healthier harbour
Thousands more plants were put in the banks of Porirua Stream last week as part of a project to reduce silt and contaminants entering Te-Awarua-o-Porirua Harbour.
Dozens of community volunteers joined Word Wide Fund for Nature and Porirua City Council staff to plant native trees and plants below Kenepuru Drive. The school holidays brought a number of children with their families down to help, in warm and overcast weather.
Carex, flax, toitoi, lemonwoods and other plants were put in the ground as part of Project #ReBlossomNZ, a collaboration led by Botanica by Air Wick and WWF, working with Ngāti Toa and Porirua, Wellington City, and the regional councils.
All up, about 6600 plants have gone in to provide shade and help prevent pollutants from the nearby roads and state highways enter the stream, which flows into the harbour. The stream supports six species of native fish: longfin and shortfin eels, giant kōkopu, inanga, redfin, and common bullies.
Porirua Mayor Anita Baker said it was great to see the turnout last week and was confident of continuous community involvement.
While the recent lockdown and current alert levels curtailed some public participation, there will be ample opportunities in the coming five years for people to get their hands in the soil.
“We’ve set aside $600,000 for riparian planting in our recent Long-term Plan, so this is important for our Council and our city,” Mayor Baker said.
“These plantings are a big step towards rejuvenating our precious harbour and, with many more harbour-related projects in the pipeline, I’m sure the community will help us along the journey.”
Ngāti Toa Treaty and Strategic Relationships General Manager Naomi Solomon acknowledged the significance of the waterway to Ngāti Toa, having historically been used for mahinga kai (food gathering areas).
“The collective planting efforts will go far in providing protection for the stream bed and raising awareness in the community around kaitiakitanga of our natural environment,” she said.
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Age Concern are looking for Volunteers in the Northern Suburbs
Our Companion Walking Service provides one-to-one assistance for people who find walking on their own difficult or could you make a difference by being a regular weekly visitor to someone in your area.
We have a particular need for volunteers in the Northern Suburbs, please consider volunteering as we have seniors waiting for a companion.
Some Choice News!
DOC is rolling out a new tool to help figure out what to tackle first when it comes to protecting our threatened species and the things putting them at risk.
Why does this matter? As Nikki Macdonald from The Post points out, we’re a country with around 4,400 threatened species. With limited time and funding, conservation has always meant making tough calls about what gets attention first.
For the first time, DOC has put real numbers around what it would take to do everything needed to properly safeguard our unique natural environment. The new BioInvest tool shows the scale of the challenge: 310,177 actions across 28,007 sites.
Now that we can see the full picture, it brings the big question into focus: how much do we, as Kiwis, truly value protecting nature — and what are we prepared to invest to make it happen?
We hope this brings a smile!
💨 Wellington: Is the real summer finally here?
It’s the talk of the town (and every coffee queue): the Wellington "summer" has felt more like a very long, very damp spring! 🌧️ We’ve definitely had our fair share of grey skies and raincoats lately.
In fact, The Post reports that our "pretty average" summer has been tough on the local venues and events that usually thrive under the sun. But don't pack away the sunscreen just yet!
The good news? The next couple of weeks are looking a bit more "settled" (the Wellington word for "not a gale-force downpour"). With autumn officially here, now is the time to squeeze every last drop out of the season! ☀️
Any local hidden spots or activities you’d recommend for a calm Wellington day? Drop them in the comments! 👇
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