Te Pourepo o Kaituna wetland creation project
Together with Ngāti Whakaue, Tapuika, the Department of Conservation and Fish & Game New Zealand, we converted 70ha of pasture into a wetland paradise for wildlife to thrive.
Historically, the Kawa Swamp spanned 6,500ha across the lower Kaituna catchment. Since the late 1800s, the swamp was drained to allow for agricultural development resulting in the loss of 97% of the wetland ecosystem. Only small remnants of the once vast wetland remained, the largest by far being the Lower Kaituna Wildlife Management Reserve (248ha).
Through the 2009 Kaituna River and Maketū/Ongotoro Strategy, and the 2019 Kaituna Action Plan, tangata whenua and the local community made it clear that they wanted wetlands in the area to be restored. Te Maru o Kaituna River Authority also set a target of 200ha of wetland restoration for Kaituna catchment by 2029. This wetland is one piece of this puzzle.
Why did we do this?
Not that long ago, wetlands made up most of the coastal strip between Tauranga and Whakatāne. However, due to many decades of land drainage to support primary production, only a small remnant of wetlands remain.
Wetlands play an important role in our environment. They help absorb flood water, and keep streams and rivers clean by filtering run-off. They also support our local biodiversity by providing habitat for many threatened native plants and animals. More local wetlands mean more wildlife, and better opportunities for people to enjoy nature, birdwatching, gamebird hunting or cultural practices, including flax harvest and eeling.
What’s been done?
In 2019, we began the restoration works. Since then, we have completed the following activities:
- Created new channels to allow water to meander throughout the wetland.
- Recontoured the land to create areas that support breeding and feeding for birds and fish.
- Retrofitted new floodgates to allow more water to enter the wetland.
- Planted more than 250,000 native wetland plants, some of these in partnership with local schools and community members.
Key activities currently underway
Work focuses on maintaining the wetland through pest plant and animal control, planting and wildlife monitoring. This work is being done with support from the Department of Conservation, Eastern Region Fish & Game, tangata whenua, Maketū Ongatoro Wetland Society (MOWS) and the local community.
Pest control
- Pest animals threaten biodiversity values – directly through predation and consumption of fruits, seeds and leaves, and indirectly through competition for food and other resources.
Work is currently underway to reduce pest animals through control methods such as trapping.
- Pest plants exclude native plants from various habitats, and kill some species by smothering, overtopping and shading. Priority species for control include woolly nightshade, wild ginger, willows, pampas grass, climbing weeds and Taiwan cherry.
Besides controlling priority species, it is important to prevent establishment of new pest plant species through biosecurity measures and by eradicating small infestations while it is cost effective and feasible.
Monitoring
- Monitoring flora and fauna is essential to confirm whether this project is effective at restoring biodiversity in the area. Over the past few years, we have undertaken both bird and fish surveys, including thermal drone bittern surveys. These surveys have shown that Australasian bittern (matuku-hūrepo) are regularly visiting the wetland.
Video gallery
Project updates
Another successful round of field days were held at the Te Pourepo o Kaituna wetland this month (August 2023).
Staff from Quayside Holdings spent their Volunteer Day getting stuck into some hard mahi with Bay of Plenty Regional Council’s land management team in the Kaituna catchment.
Field days at the Te Pourepo o Kaituna wetland are underway! Otamarakau School is one of the schools taking part in the annual event this month and judging by the smiles it was a good day out in the sun.
More than 600 native trees and shrubs were planted by Te Puke High School students in the kahikatea areas of Te Pourepo o Kaituna wetland last week (August 4, 2022), as part of an annual collaborative event between the school, Maketū Ōngātoro Wetland Society (MOWS), Bay Conservation Alliance and Bay of Plenty Regional Council.
Maketu Ōngātoro Wetland Society and eight local schools are helping out with planting at Te Pourepo o Kaituna wetland this month.
Stage one earthworks to convert 22 hectares of Ngāti Whakaue and Tapuika owned land into wetland have now been completed, providing new breeding and feeding areas for birds and fish.
