Hon Dr Nick Smith

Minister for the Environment
1 September 2015

Government grant for East Coast stream restoration

An $89,700 grant from the Community Environment Fund for the restoration of the Whangawehi stream on the Mahia Peninsula was announced today by Environment Minister Dr Nick Smith during a visit to the catchment.

“New Zealand has a major challenge to improve the management of our waterways, which has to be achieved stream by stream, river by river and lake by lake. The key to the success of these restoration programmes is getting all parties – landowners, iwi and hapū, district and regional councils as well as the Government – working together. This has been achieved on this project and that is why the Government is providing funding support,” Dr Smith says.

“The Group’s project will plant native trees to regenerate 26 hectares of native forest and put up fencing to prevent lifestock and goats from getting into the Whangawehi stream. It will also monitor the water quality of the stream and some key tributaries to measure the impact of the restoration project over time. Improving the water quality is crucial to protect important biodiversity such as long fin eels,” Dr Smith says.

Local children from Te Mahia School will also be involved in the restoration project and will act as kaitiaki, or guardians of the local environment for future generations.

“This project is a good example of the type of initiative the Community Environment Fund was set up to support. It is a practical project which aims to protect and improve our environment, and increase community involvement and public awareness on some of New Zealand’s most important environmental issues," Dr Smith says.

Further information on the Fund is available at: www.mfe.govt.nz/more/funding/community-environment-fund

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