Youngsters build their own wetland

Youngsters build their own wetland

Youngsters from Whangamarino School have their own wetland to manage on Lake Rotoiti – and they’re building it for themselves.

The wetland is an artificial floating construction of coconut matting and foam with plastic material holding it together, which can be planted up with natives to form a new habitat for native plants and wildlife. The project is one of the first initiated by Bay of Plenty Regional Council and the Te Arawa Lakes Trust, and is now floating at the mouth of the Okere River on the banks of the Taheke Marae near Lake Rotoiti.

Last month children from the school got busy planting their wetland with native plants ready to start managing it themselves.

Bay of Plenty Regional Council Lake Operations Manager Andy Bruere said the floating wetland is multi purpose, giving people and community groups the opportunity to get involved in wetland restoration and providing an environmentally friendly and aesthetically pleasing way of removing nutrients from lake waters.

“It has both aesthetic values and possible ecological value by providing new habitat for fish and birds and removing harmful nutrients,” he said.

The joint project between the council and the Trust has gained resource consent to construct floating wetlands on 11 of the lakes in the Rotorua Restoration Programme.

“The plan is that any community group, hapu group or school can initiate one, and manage one themselves. We may be able to assist with an Environmental Enhancement Fund grant to get them up and running and then make sure that the groups are maintaining them properly, weeding regularly and ensuring they stay anchored properly in the lake.”

The floating islands fit with the surrounding habitat for fish and birds, and increase the area available for nesting and breeding by a variety of birds and fish species.

Te Runganga Ngāti Pikiao’s Hakopa Paul is co-ordinating the project for the area, which is a joint venture between the school, the marae and hapū. The wetland is currently anchored just outside the marae and in about three months when the roots of the plants have embedded, it will be moved to its more permanent placement.

“This is a great benefit for us, as the school will be involved in information gathering and the hapū will be translating that information so it can be understood by both the school and the community.

“It’s one of the ways we can contribute to bringing back the water quality of our lakes.”

Another floating wetland is already being trialled on Lake Rotoehu and a parallel trial in an experimental tank is being tested to see how much nutrient can be removed by the artificial construction. Key nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus which leach from the land contribute to deterioration of water quality in the lakes.

Mr Bruere said artificial floating wetlands are being set up in other parts of the world as potential water quality filters and ecological improvements, including Singapore where walkways have been set up on a river surrounded by floating wetlands.

ENDS

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