Donald's Creek Kaitiakitanga Project

Here’s where the fun starts for me. I want to get to know the stream. I am curious to see how the plants are doing – these are the sedge grasses and toetoe that the students from St Teresa’s planted a week ago. I know that the students have spent a lot of time getting to know the stream; they have visited, researched, planned for its future, collected data and monitored the stream, and now started the planting. Have a look here to see the students’ vision for the future of the stream! I can’t wait to meet with the students are hear more about this plan!

So I will put on my gumboots (with reindeers on) and go over to the Donald’s Creek Restoration site every Wednesday morning from now on. I will record my findings, take photos and spend some time blogging about what I have learnt, so that the local community can also learn more about the project and the awesome mahi of the students.

I will meet with the students to learn about their journey and their hopes and plans for the stream. I also hope to meet with other community members who may know the stream in other ways; perhaps they lived by the stream or remember playing in the stream when they were young, perhaps they caught kai from the stream, or they remember how it may have changed over time. I will post about this and share my experiences on this blog.

Over time I will put together a small “science kit” for this purpose, but today I start light, bringing my camera and a few measuring tools. Also warm clothing – it is freezing today, and I am layered up to the max, a mixture of sun, ice cold wind and drops of rain is on the menu.

The plants, stretching towards the sharp Winter sun, are partly surrounded by a wire fence.

Today I want to measure the temperature of the stream at the site, and the depth of the stream. I also want to record how the plants that the St Teresa Students planted last week are doing. Too nerdy? Well, hey, that way perhaps I can even do a rough monitoring of how the plants grow and thrive. As I walk onto the site, at first glance I can see a few iron rods and a rope marking and protecting the area where the sedges and toetoe were planted. This is a good first step (thanks City Care and SWDC) to ensuring that no-one will trample across the plants, or mow them down.

The first time I measure the temperature of the stream the thermometer shows
just over 12 degrees Celcius!

Measuring the temperature can tell you a lot about the stream. The temperature of a stream affects the level of oxygen that fish and macro-invertebrates need to survive, the photosynthesis of aquatic plants in the stream, and vulnerability to pollution, parasites and disease. Of course the temperature of the stream may vary as you wander further upstream and downstream, so key to getting good data is to always take your measurements at the same spot every time. I get approximately 12.2 degrees Celsius. I wait for a bit and take the measurement again, as this is the first time and I am not sure if I am doing this right. To eliminate mistakes it’s best to compare two separate measurements. Both measurements come up the same. I double-check that the thermometer is working by holding the tip of the Thermometer in my hand for a while – it goes up.

So not a great day for a swim for me, but I imagine 12.2 degrees C may be pretty ideal for a eel or a kokopu. I will need to find out! This reading is taken in the middle of Winter – and this makes me wonder what temperatures this stream will have during Summer, with so little shade, and how that may impact on oxygen levels for fish and macro-invertebrates. The planting that the students have done is a great step in the right direction to provide more shade, shelter and cooler temperatures especially in Summer!

Taken in the middle of the stream, the water depth sits approximately 27cm from the pebbly bottom.

Next I measure the depth of the stream, using a good old fashioned wooden fold out carpenter’s ruler. I get roughly 27cm. The water is travelling at high velocity, it would be fun to find out how fast – but I have not got the means to measure this today. I wonder how this velocity and the lack of shade affects the health of the stream ecosystem. I look forward to being able to meet the students and ask them about this and hear what they have learnt. For now, all I can think is that it can’t be easy for all the little critters in the stream to thrive in such rapidly flowing water and with so little shade. I wonder if the stream has always been this straight, and how a more meandering and more shaded stream would have supported a thriving ecosystem for eels, koura, kokopu and other species.

Last thing on my agenda today is to take a couple of measurements of a few plants that I know I can locate and measure again at regular intervals. I don’t yet know which plants are which… so I will need to return with someone that knows, who can help identify them. Windy weather conditions also made it pretty tricky to measure the height of the plants, but the longest parts of the plants seemed to be around 40-45cm.

The site visit and measurements were done 07.07.2019.

It was wet, windy, overcast, and in the middle of Winter, but none of these conditions deterred the St Teresa’s School students or their enthusiasm for getting their fingers and boots dirty on the first planting day! When I arrived about quarter to ten, the kids and most of the other volunteers were already there, supported by their teacher Liz Lark, Zoe Studd from Mountains to Sea Wellington and a team from City Care, as well as representatives from South Wairarapa District Council. We were later joined by more wonderful volunteers and nearby residents taking a keen interest in this local restoration project!

Zoe offered a quick briefing and then it was just about getting stuck in. I have rarely ever seen kids run to a task with such enthusiasm – what a lucky community we are to have such passionate, ecologically aware, young leaders taking on this important task. The volunteers and City Care team were not far behind and did our best to support the kids’s enthusiasm and hard work. Holes were dug (300 in one morning!) plants were transported, roots were shook and loosened, soil was scooped and patted neatly around the flaxes and grasses. And not only that, huge boulders were excavated by sheer muscle-and-spade power, beetles were discovered, admired & rescued, and the first spontaneous works of art also went up; cairns built from the many small and large rocks that we had to dig out to get the plants securely settled in their new homes.

All along the stream provided a wonderful backdrop and soundscape as it meandered and curved along the bank and hustle & bustle of planting.

Finally, we were able to use some of the mown grass to create small nests of shelter around the plants (as long as it was not touching the stems) and in between we enjoyed hot chocolate and cookies and a good chat!

At 12noon the weather packed in, but the planting was done and everyone was completely elated with the results! 300 plants were sitting snugly in the ground; 212 of them a mixture of Carex secta, Cyperus ustulatus, and Carex virgata, 88 were toetoe.

I don’t think anyone walked away NOT looking forward to the next time we would be able to do this again!