Stories from our network

by Mike Birch, Taueru farmer, Ruamahanga Restoration Trust trustee and WaiP2K Forum member  A catchment community group is a gathering of people, working together, who identify with a geographical area. There are many reasons to form a catchment group including...

Summer is a great season to explore nature. If you’re short on time, urban bush reserves are perfect for getting a quick nature fix. Wairarapa local Rebecca Jamieson discovers these special places, and how they can benefit our well being. There is something almost...

by Ali Mackisack  “When it comes to biodiversity, sometimes finding out what isn’t there, is just as important as finding out what is there,” says Sam Rammell, a Master's student in Ecological Restoration at Te Herenga Waka, Victoria University of Wellington....

by Ali Mackisack To some, it looks just like another small urban creek, channelling water away from homes and into the river. But for one group of neighbours, it looked instead like a challenge and a chance to bring their community together: is it possible to turn...

With a sinking feeling of déjà vu, Conservation Week event organisers in the Wairarapa cancelled face to face events for a second year in a row due to COVID-19. Fortunately, this years’ theme ‘Take a moment for nature’ was still relevant in Level 3, so a photo...

A $1.1 million funding boost will help farmer-led Wairarapa catchment community groups to take action for better biodiversity and stream health outcomes and the resilience of their communities. The funding is part of a partnership between the Ministry for Primary...

Contributed by Ronnie Anderson, Senior Community Ranger, Department of Conservation (originally published in the Wairarapa MidWeek) One day soon when our daily routines are back to normal, you may notice something a bit ‘abnormal’ popping up around town in Masterton –...

by Celia Wade-Brown What’s that bird? Do you love lizards? Do native orchids flower in August or January? Or maybe you want to identify a tree in the Tararua Forest? Not sure whether that butterfly is native to this area? Where can I see a flowering rātā in Aorangi...

by Ali Mackisack “It’s easy to underestimate what it takes to set up and run a native tree nursery,” says Narida Hooper of Pae Tū Mōkai o Tauira Inc – a community and environment-focused group based in Featherston. “When we set up our committee in 2018, we had this...

by Ali Mackisack Photos of smiling children with a tree in one hand and a spade in the other, abound on our print and social media platforms. But – as in many other places, there’s a lot more depth and diversity to our environmental education space than kids planting...

by Ronnie Anderson, Department of Conservation | Originally published in the Wairarapa MidWeek It’s a win win for the Wairarapa and local hapū with the creation of a plant nursery at Kohunui Marae. The nursery will support hapū conservation and cultural ambitions...

by Charmin Dahl Wainuioru School & Community Nursery hosted a workshop on the 25th of July. The Wairarapa Pūkaha to Kawakawa Alliance invited regional expert Harvey Phillips to provide a training session on pricking out and give a demonstration of his seed...

On 11 August, the Mangatarere Restoration Society are hosting a public meeting at Carterton Events Centre. The event opens at 5pm for a drop-in for Carterton residents to discuss the flood modelling of the Mangatarere Stream and its tributaries. Our 10-minute AGM...

by Ali Mackisack, originally published in the MidWeek on 14 July 2021 Here in the Wairarapa, we really do love our natural environment. At last count, there were about 52 groups in the Wairarapa, both rural and urban, who are working to protect and restore...

Conservation Week in the Wairarapa   Take a moment to celebrate and enjoy nature this Conservation Week 4–12 September 2021. When Papatūānuku thrives, we all thrive. So take a moment for nature, give your mind a break and feel connected to the world. It can be as...

by Lyle Griffiths June 18th and despite the rather cloudy day and the threat of light misty rain, 35 Martinborough residents turned out to transform the corner of Hinakura and Todds Road behind the fence on the golf course. When the pine trees were removed last year,...

by Ali Mackisack There’s a satisfying symmetry to having a nursery take shape right next to a school that already sits at the heart of its community. Growing alongside the minds and bodies of the 80-0r-so students at Wainuioru School, will be tens-of-thousands of...

by Celia Wade-Brown TrapNZ helps volunteers to record and understand predator control and biodiversity data. TrapNZ is a free website and phone app. After our first records for Duntulm Farm were lost, we decided to use an external system instead of our excel...

by Ali Mackisack Wouldn’t it be great if someone handed over a million dollars to go towards your biodiversity project or catchment community plans? It sounds like a dream come true doesn't it? Think of all the things you could finally get done! Yet, while a large...

by Ali Mackisack Why not bring back whio, our threatened endemic blue duck to the Wairarapa? This was the challenge that left the room buzzing, at the conclusion of the inaugural Wairarapa Biodiversity Hui held in Masterton last weekend. “There’s power in you guys...

By Ali Mackisack Here in the Wairarapa, it seems we really do love our natural environment. And it’s also clear that we’re aware there are things we need to do, to look after our special little piece of Planet Earth. A quick count reveals that there are at least 52...

If you need some planting done, you can give a bunch of kids some spades, and you’ll get some planting done – possibly quite a lot of it. But if you take a bunch of kids, get them to explore an area, find out a bit about its’ history and create some links between them...

The banded dotterel is as vulnerable as the great spotted kiwi yet not as well known or protected. Thankfully, the Wairarapa’s largest population of banded dotterel at White Rock is getting a helping hand from a local protection group and an international forestry...

by Ali Mackisack Like many locals, you’ve probably walked over the rocks and along the path leading up to the Castlepoint Lighthouse. But as you walked, were you aware of some other hardy, long-time locals living there in the cracks and crevices beneath your feet?...

It’s certainly no cause to celebrate – the Parkvale Stream is one of the more polluted streams in the Wairarapa, with high nutrient and e-coli levels. But the news is great for anyone who cares about the quality of water in the catchment because now you can be part of...

While these photos of Carterton underwater look like they’re set safely in the distant past, Carterton is still at risk of major flooding if the Mangatārere stream tops its banks. Any information about past floods can really help to predict future flooding and make...

By Nanette McDonald You may well have noticed a change at the corner of Ahiaruhe and Millar’s Roads. The native plantings and sign are the result of the first project of the Ahiaruhe Eco Area Catchment Group, which had its beginnings at a Beef and Lamb workshop on...

By Ali Mackisack Imagine this. You’re walking through the forest in the lower Ruamāhanga valley, somewhere near Wairarapa Moana. It’s 1821. Your ears are tuned to the calls of kōkako, kākāriki, kererū and whio. Kākā, kiwi, kārearea, and tīeke thrive here too. The sun...

By Ali Mackisack With the cider bottles of river-water samples lined up on the picnic table in front of them, the evidence was clear to see: as the water flowed downstream through their catchment, it changed. While the nutrient levels were still good, having water...