The Wakamoekau community catchment group has some awesome kaupapa underway with support from Greater Wellington and Mountains to Sea Wellington.
The group might have a small catchment but they have big aspirations for the health of the awa and surrounding whenua.
The group has began a new planting project focused on restoring four hectares of riverbank. The group is experimenting with a unique permaculture method, planting in small circles of about 25 trees each. These circles will be temporarily fenced, with water tanks ready for dry spells, and pest animals will be actively trapped in the area.
In two years, the group plans to reuse all the fencing and watering equipment for another round of planting, making this a sustainable and ongoing effort.
Alongside the planting, the group has been working hard doing seasonal monitoring of the river with Mountains to Sea Wellington.
The group has undertaken monitoring at five sites along the river for the past couple of years but with the new planting project they have added another site to capture the benefits of planting along the river.
Monitoring of the Wakamoekau awa captures information about water quality but there is also a keen interest in biodiversity with the group monitoring fish and macroinvertebrates too.
