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An iwi-led partnership project to rejuvenate a riverine landscape

Project partners: Taumutu Rūnanga Ltd. and Environment Canterbury

What’s been done: 

• Mana whenua-led, from governance to operational delivery, Whakaora Te Waikēkēwai is an exemplar of Te Tiriti partnership in practice.
• Taumutu Rūnanga, in collaboration with Environment Canterbury, is currently in the second phase of this long-term landscape restoration project to revitalise the lower to mid reaches of Te Waikēkēwai/Waikēkēwai Stream.  

Having recently completed the rejuvenation of Te Reo Orariki wetland and Taumutu Marae grounds, current and planned mahi involves collaborating with neighbouring landowners to restore the main stem of Te Waikēkēwai above the Marae. This is being delivered through a series of works including fencing, planting, weed control and sediment trap installation. 

How you can help:

We are seeking to partner with a motivated funder to begin phase three of the project, which aims to enhance and increase mahinga kai habitat, improve water quality and increase indigenous biodiversity.

Learn more about this project

An iwi-led partnership project to restore a coastal lagoon

Project partners: Taumutu Rūnanga Ltd., Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, and Environment Canterbury

What’s been done: 

Muriwai o Whata/Coopers Lagoon is a unique coastal lagoon, valued by iwi for its mahinga kai (resources), which is hydrologically connected to Te Waihora, but has been degraded over decades because of surrounding land uses. Its value for mana whenua is highlighted by local pūrākau (traditional stories), which tell that this lagoon is the ancestral home of all tuna (eels). 

A restoration plan for Muriwai o Whata has been developed, and relationships with surrounding landowners have been fostered (in part through the neighbouring Whakaora Te Waikēkēwai project).  

How you can help: 

We are seeking $5.3 million in funding over five years for pest plant and animal control, planting, a mātauranga Māori and western science monitoring programme, and investigations into coastal erosion. This investment will improve mahinga kai values, biodiversity values, water quality, and restore habitat for the critically endangered kautuku/Australasian bittern.

This project has all the essential elements in place for success:

• Te Tiriti partnership: The project will build on the success and template of the Whakaora Te Waikēkēwai project (a mana whenua-led project and an exemplar of Te Tiriti partnership in practice).
• Co-governance: As a project in the Whakaora Te Waihora programme, it will be governed by the Te Waihora Co-Governance Group.
• A plan: A restoration plan for Muriwai o Whata has been developed and approved.
• A team: The project will use the established team for the Whakaora Te Waikēkēwai project, who have a proven record of delivery success.
• Relationships: The project has established relationships with project partners, including iwi and surrounding landowners.

Joining iwi and community to save a wetland with superb mahinga kai values

Project partners: Environment Canterbury

What’s been done:  

Ahuriri Lagoon was once a large lagoon of Te Waihora/Lake Ellesmere with significant mahinga kai values for iwi. But, as the surrounding area was drained, its ecological and cultural values were all but lost.

A restoration project has begun guided by a plan from Rūnanga representatives and neighbouring landowners.

Work thus far has included a constructed wetland (led by Environment Canterbury), weed control and natural regeneration projects, and Te Pae Ahuriri planted site (led by Te Ara Kākāriki).

Today, the Little River Rail Trail winds its way through the area, and the restored habitats are popular with walkers, bikers and runners.

How you can help: 

We are seeking $1.5 million for the next phase of the project. This support will be used for:

• fostering natural regeneration with weed control
• planting
• conservation of the critically threatened matuku/Australasian bittern (that occupies this habitat)
• predator control
• expanding the wetland areas.

Learn more about this project

Strategic weed-control and mass-planting to restore the wetlands of Aotearoa’s largest lagoon

Project partner: Department of Conservation and Environment Canterbury

What’s been done:  

Department of Conservation-led Weed Strikeforce and Kahuria Te Waihora projects have made significant progress in revitalising the lakeshore wetlands around Te Waihora/Lake Ellesmere.  

Since 2020, the Weed Strikeforce project has been eradicating grey willow and other invasive pest plants, like yellow flag iris, reed canary grass, blackberry, elderberry and gorse around the wetland margins of the lake. As a result, native plants have begun to regenerate and flourish over large areas, at a fraction of the cost of large-scale planting.  

The Kahuria Te Waihora is a complementary reforestation project which has planted thousands of native trees at adjacent sites.  

To date, we’ve: 

• controlled over 36,000ha of lake margin land weeds 
• planted 224,749 indigenous trees and shrubs over 30ha at 5 locations 
• installed 7 trap lines, controlling over 30 ha for possums, mustelids, rats, and hedgehogs  

How you can help: 

We are seeking $3.4 million in funding to maintain weed control gains and existing traplines, plant a further 150,000 native trees and shrubs, and expand the weed control programme to additional sites around the lakeshore.

Learn more about this project

Constructed wetland to improve water quality and enhance the recreational value of a beloved summer swim spot

Project partners: Representative group, Selwyn District Council, and Environment Canterbury

What’s proposed:

The proposed project, designed by Morphum Environmental Ltd, will see a wetland constructed near Coes Ford – a popular swimming, picnicking and camping area south of Springston. 

At times during summer, water quality in the area falls below acceptable standards for swimming, limiting the use of this spot for recreation. 

Silverstream, a spring-fed catchment, is the main contributor of contaminants to the Waikirikiri/Selwyn River. In 2019, a feasibility study confirmed that a constructed wetland could indeed improve the water quality of the Silverstream before it reaches the Waikirikiri.  

A parcel of land has been secured to execute this design, an approximately 26-hectare biodiversity, mahinga kai and recreation development, of which 4 hectares will be dedicated to this constructed wetland.

How you can help:

We are seeking $3.8 million to break ground on this shovel-ready project.

More information about this new project

Championing grassroots efforts to retore Te Waihora

Project partners: There is a range of local organisations dedicated to delivering restoration projects to better Te Waihora and the surrounding landscape. All of these partners – including mana whenua, NGOs, farmer-led groups, schools, and local trusts – communicate with each other and work together, with their collective projects contributing to the restoration of Te Waihora.

What’s being done: 

The restoration of Te Waihora/Lake Ellesmere is a big job, and we couldn’t do it without our dedicated community.  

By providing funding for these passionate groups, you are supporting grassroots efforts to achieve a healthy Te Waihora that can be enjoyed by generations to come. 

How you can help: 

We are seeking funders who will enable a broad range of organisations like schools, local trusts, and other environmental groups, to join our mission to rejuvenate the mana and mauri of Te Waihora/Lake Ellesmere.

Reinvigorating one of the largest freshwater wetlands remaining within the former central Canterbury Plains swamp 

Project partner: Selwyn District Council

What’s being done: 

Tārerekautuku Yarrs Lagoon Reserve is considered a Significant Natural Area for its unique ecological and cultural values.  

The reserve is home to a number of rare indigenous plant species, including one of the largest manuka population remaining on the Canterbury Plains.  

Selwyn District Council has been awarded funding through the Ministry for the Environment Freshwater Improvement Fund to restore and enhance native biodiversity and cultural values, as well as improve water quality and restore hydrological function in the area. 

This fund will support:  

• willow (primarily grey willow, Salix cinerea) and other weed control 
• planting (riparian and margins) 
• mammalian predator control – targeting possums, mustelids and rats 
• instream works (on the managed drains), namely rebattering and planting 
• monitoring, including mātauranga monitoring 

How you can help: 

We are seeking $1.5 million in funding to support the ecological restoration and maintenance of this critical wetland environment.

Reimagining the riverine landscape that connects Ōtautahi/Christchurch to Te Waihora/Lake Ellesmere to improve water quality entering Te Waihora

Project partners: Environment Canterbury and Te Ara Kākāriki

What’s been done: 

The Huritini/Halswell River is an integral awa that connects the people, landscape and water of Ōtautahi to Te Waihora/Lake Ellesmere. 

The health of the Huritini has been declining significantly due to a high sediment load from the Port Hills and a broken riparian landscape, which in turn carries sediment into Te Waihora. 

Work is underway by different organisations to restore and revegetate sites along the awa. But more work is required to complete the riparian restoration and mitigate sediment entering the awa to improve the quality of water entering Te Waihora. 

How you can help: 

We are seeking $6 million to complete this long-term restoration project.  

Funding will support additional efforts to mitigate sediment loss, native planting, water monitoring and the protection and enhancement of existing wetlands.