Tuesday, 16 February 2021, 4:40 pm
With all of Lake Wairarapa to play in, it can be a lonely
life for a juvenile kākahi, the native New Zealand
freshwater mussel. While there are plenty of the adult
mollusc living on the lake bed, juveniles are few, and it is
cause for concern.
This year’s annual kākahi
monitoring survey day at Lake Domain Reserve in the
Wairarapa recorded reasonable numbers of adult kākahi, but
not a single juvenile.
The kākahi monitoring
programme, now in its seventh year, is one of a number of
projects underway at Lake Wairarapa as part of the Wairarapa
Wetland work boost for Wairarapa mana 02 Feb 2021 11:39 AM
More Related Stories
Related Podcast
The Government has marked World Wetlands Day by highlighting efforts to restore the internationally recognised Wairarapa Moana wetlands.
The work is being funded by $3.5 million from the Environment Ministry’s Jobs for Nature fund, about $1 million from the Greater Wellington Council and a smaller sum from the Department of Conservation.
Project lead Kereana Sims from the council says as well as creating jobs, the project is about restoring mana to hapū and iwi.
About 30 jobs will be created over the next five years to restore at least 30 hectares of wetland through indigenous planting, and to control pests across 1000 hectares of wetlands and surrounding land.
When they find invasive species, the location is recorded, and pest plants targeted for removal. Miller brought Bailey to the South Wairarapa coastline to seek out pest cordgrass, or spartina anglica. The aquatic plant thrives in waterway margins, growing up to one-metre tall in brackish or freshwater. Okorewa Lagoon, part of Lake Onoke and the Wairarapa Moana network, was a possible site for the spread of the pest. Bailey and Miller are the sharp-end of a pest control plan developed by Greater Wellington Regional Council and DOC to fight invasive plant species. Greater Wellington Regional Council s management plan for invasive plant species looks well ahead to the future. The project covers the next 20 years but is preparing for the next century.
New Zealand s leading dog detective was unleashed in Wairarapa s wetlands on Tuesday as part of the fight against invasive toxic weeds.
Bailey, a sniffer dog and part of the Conservation Dogs Programme, at Okorewa Lagoon, South Wairarapa.
Photo: Wairarapa Times-Age / Grace Prior
Bailey is part of the Department of Conservation s [DOC] Conservation Dogs Programme.
The seven-year-old boxer-short haired pincer cross, and her pal Wink, are trained by Graeme Miller, a 38-year DOC veteran and canine specialist based in Invercargill.
The age-old partnership of man and dog is augmented by high-speed technology.
Conservation Programme dogs wear a special vest, hooked up to a global positioning system [GPS] satellite.
GO NZ: Anna Coddington and Carl Fletcher on their hometown attractions - Raglan to Taranaki
21 Dec, 2020 09:33 PM
7 minutes to read
NZ Herald
Kiwi celebrities and local experts explain what makes their home town world-famous in New Zealand, and the things you should see and do when you visit.
Anna Coddington - Raglan
What makes Raglan unique/iconic in New Zealand?
The surfing, though I don t partake, and the scenery and beaches generally. Also the people it s a great community and there are a lot of artists, musicians, creatives and characters.
What s the first place you d recommend to a visitor?
The campground beach. There s a great playground and pump track for kids, you can swim and jump off the bridge (if the tide is high enough, do not attempt if it s not), and there are good fish and chips at the campground shop. You can walk across the bridge into town for a change of scene if you feel like it.