Whakatōhea Tiaki Taiao has teamed up with the community to help
restore and revegetate parts of the dunes near Pākihikura Harbour, as
construction moves into its final phases.
Last week, Tiaki Taiao were joined by students from five local
schools, Ōpōtiki Primary School, Te Kura o Waioweka, Te Kura Mana Māori
Maraenui, Te Kura o Torere, and Kutarere School. Together they planted 3,000
new plants in the Eastern back dune area.
Tiaki Taiao Project Lead, Jesse Emery, who had the idea to get
local schools involved in the project was stoked to have some more helpers
getting stuck in.
“I thought it would be a cool opportunity for the local tamariki
to learn a little bit more about our sand dunes. Plus, we needed the extra
hands so it was a win-win!”
A spokesperson from Ōpōtiki Primary School said the
students have been learning about environmental sustainability and the
importance of preserving resources like clean air, water and wildlife for
future generations.
“It was an awesome opportunity for our Kura to be involved with
something like this. Tamariki learn a lot from hands-on experiences and they
were proud to contribute and take action in keeping our environment healthy and
sustainable for the future.”
Emery said there will be plenty more opportunities for tamariki
to get involved with - more plants to be planted in the next few weeks and then
a significantly larger programme next winter, once harbour construction is
completed.
“We’re working with some other local schools to help share the
load. It’s a massive job, but with the help from the community and a few
hundred keen tamariki, it’ll be done in no time,” said Emery.
There are expansive areas mapped out for planting, so this will
be an ongoing project that aims to be completed over the next two
winters.
We will provide ongoing updates on this project as we have them.
