Waitaki
Toitū Te Hakapupu: The Pleasant Catchment River Restoration Project
We have partnered with Kāti Huirapa Rūnaka ki Puketeraki to restore and enhance the mauri and health of this important East Otago river system.
We have partnered with Kāti Huirapa Rūnaka ki Puketeraki to restore and enhance the mauri and health of this important East Otago river system.
Location: Waitaki
Project start date: July 2023
The plan aims to enhance the wider ecosystem, improve water quality by reducing the amount of sediment and nutrient input to the rivers and estuary, and use the best of Kāi Tahu mātauraka (knowledge) and modern science to sustain our efforts.
For Kāi Tahu, the river was an important kāika mahika kai (food gathering settlement) where tuna (eels), pātiki (flounders) and īnaka (whitebait) were abundant. Today’s diverse community, whose own history, connection, and livelihood are tied to this catchment, are important collaborators in the success of this project.
Together, there is a journey to create a catchment restoration action plan to inspire us to sustain the awa (river).
The catchment restoration action plan will be a living document with long-term goals. Some of the work we have planned to gather information to support decision-making is:
Some work throughout the project will require the services of ORC experts, and some, the hardworking members of the community, including collaborating with the East Otago Catchment Group and local landowners.
Some of the contracts we have in place to complete the project work:
This four-year work programme will focus on improvements to water quality, safe fish passage, and a catchment restoration action plan co-developed with the rūnaka that the community will adopt as its own, but it will also look to better protect biodiversity and natural water resources in the area.
Working side by side with local rūnaka, we want to find appropriate ways to collaborate with community and industry in the catchment identifying work needing to be done while reflecting community aspirations.
This may include:
Over the next year, we will also gather baseline data on the catchment to better understand sediment and nutrient movement, fish habitat and water quality issues. This will help guide activities to improve water quality.
There are many ways you can protect precious waterways.
Planting, controlling pests and weeds or creating habitat will enhance biodiversity and attract more native animals (birds, lizards, and invertebrates) to your area, improving their chances of survival.
There are no upcoming events - yet!
End of Wetlands Road, Goodwood - just North of Waikouaiti
There were opportunities to discover how to contribute to the well-being of your community through fun and engaging community science activities.
The following activities were available throughout the day with a bird expert leading a bird watching walk 1-2pm.
There was a BBQ onsite, and Cup & Cone will be serving real fruit ice cream, smoothies and hot drinks.
We hope you had a great time!
Please note: this was not for compliance.
This flyover allowed ORC staff to confirm mapping in some areas of Te Hakapupu, that then enabled the project to prioritise sediment hotspots and identify where planting and fencing opportunities and other work will be most effective to improve water quality.
The flight took no more than 4-6 hours over a number of areas in the catchment.
More than 30 year 5 and 6 students from Karitane and Waikouaiti schools in East Otago took part in a Planting Day just North of Waikouaiti, assisting Toitū Te Hakapupu: The Pleasant River Restoration Project.
As part of the project, a regionally significant wetland has been fenced off on a piece of private land to protect it from stock and the children helped plant over 100 native trees along the riverbank on this property.
They also learnt about the health of the river just before it enters the estuary. One of ORC’s Catchment Advisors, Jack Mathieson, spoke about stressors, such as increased levels of nutrients, sediment, heavy metals and pollution, how they accumulate at the bottom of the river and can impact the catchment, harming the flora and fauna.
The group did some water quality testing and saw some taoka (treasured) species in the river including kōura (crayfish) and tuna (eels).
The children also took part in a cultural health discussion with local mana whenua representative, Julia Rata-Te Raki.
Ka pai, kids!
The Toitū Te Hakapupu Restoration Project celebrated the start of planting in the Pleasant River area with a community planting day.
It was a chance for those not familiar with the project to hear more about the vision the community has for Te Hakapupu, to learn what work’s been started, what’s upcoming and help plant some natives along a waterway in the river catchment.
1,200 plants were planted.
A free barbeque and ice cream was provided.
This planting day gave the community the opportunity to help contribute to the improvement of water quality in the area.
It was a great way to spend time with Dad on Father’s Day; giving back to the environment whilst enjoying a barbie and a Mr Whippy!
Around 15 community members attended the hui, workshopping ways to build on the ideas from the last meeting and achieve the vision the community outlined for Te Hakapupu catchment.
To start off, Mel White from the Otago Regional Council provided a brief update of progress on the Toitū Te Hakapupu project. Matt Dale from the Ahikā science team then outlined key results from the baseline water quality monitoring.
The community quickly identified actions they believed would help address problems while also meeting their values and goals for the catchment. Locations for these actions were also discussed and lists made of groups and organisations that could help achieve them.
For water quality, stabilisation of slip prone areas was a key action, as was the addition of sediment traps and riparian planting in appropriate locations. Recognising the low flow characteristics of the catchment during summer, enhancement of the deeper pools that can become disconnected during dry spells was also considered important by the group.
In relation to land use, actions included planting natives along the boundaries between farmland and forestry to help suppress weed species and enhance biodiversity. Slowing the speed of drainage water was another action to reduce the erosive effects in high flows. For example, by putting purpose built ‘sock’s on the end of drainage pipes.
Actions for the estuary-wetland complex focussed more on kōrero with landowners about the new wetland rules and the removal of barriers such as flap-gates to help the salt marsh regenerate.
The group reflected on their great work over kai and a cuppa, and the idea of a beautiful, flourishing catchment with healthy wai and healthy whenua that is recognised as a destination to visit.
Around 20 community members attended the hui, where outcomes from the work done since the last community hui were presented and the role and benefits of a catchment action plan were shared.
Associate Professor Marc Schellenberg of the University of Otago presented a summary of results from monitoring of water quality, ecological health, and scientific research undertaken in recent years. This included a first glimpse of the real-time water quality measurements taken from River Watch wakas which people found very interesting.
The first workshop session then posed four questions about the Te Hakapupu catchment to those present. The questions covered what was special and important about the catchment, what issues or challenges it faced, what is important for management of the catchment, and finally, what the group thought the catchment should be like for future generations.
A wide range of themes emerged covering good water quality and healthy ecosystems, along with access and enjoyment of the unique aesthetics of the catchment’s waterways and its four peaks. Farming and forestry practices that complimented these themes were also discussed, as well as the importance of the overall link between healthy land and water, healthy people, and healthy connected communities.
Another short workshop followed, exploring types of involvement the community would like in regard to further scientific initiatives. Options included recording types and numbers of fish and bird species associated with the estuary and river.
The project team will now build all this new information into the first full version of the Te Hakapupu/Pleasant River catchment action plan over the next few months.
A community meeting in Waikouaiti to support landowners looking to get involved in some of the work Toitū Te Hakapupu has planned for 2023, chiefly fencing and native planting.
There was an interactive mapping session to collect local knowledge of the catchment such as known sediment hot spots, corrections were made to current land use maps, and discussions were had around proposed monitoring sites.
Opportunities for the rest of the community to help were also identified, including scientific monitoring, planting days and surveys. With time for feedback and questions from the greater community.
More than 1600 oioi plants have been planted around the South Arm of Te Hakapupu estuary thanks to the hard work and collaborative efforts of the Kāti Huirapa Rūnaka ki Puketeraki marae nursery and Tūmai Beach Restoration Trust.
The project was largely funded by Toitū Te Hakapupu; a joint initiative between the Otago Regional Council, Kāti Huirapa Rūnaka te Puketeraki and the Ministry for the Environment.
In an attempt to reintroduce these colourful, native wetland rushes to the area, the kaitiaki (guardians) at Kāti Huirapa Rūnaka ki Puketeraki and some residents at Tūmai Beach farm park have undertaken this as a planting trial to learn the best ways to re-establish the plant around the estuary.
A relaxed meet and greet event was held on the Familton’s farm to introduce the people behind the project to the community, outline the project’s aims and how it may affect those in the community.
Those that attended were encouraged to ask questions, share their thoughts, values, and what they would like to see for the future of their catchment.
