Wetland Restoration

Te Opoko Paoa is historically significant. Tangata whenua described the area as a forest where waterfowl were caught. In 1845, William Colenso recorded that Motu-o-Taraia at the northern end was home to a potato plantation. In more recent times, local farmer Peter Coleman remembers wetland vegetation in the 1950s with kahikatea, tī kōuka, harakeke and sedges. Tip Tūtaki recalls open water in the 1960s with harakeke in the south of the wetlands, and kahikatea stands between the swamp and Waikareao. Since then, crack willow has increasingly covered the wetland area to the point that it has smothered most native plants. Near the Flaxmill Bridge a stubborn few surviving tī kōuka / cabbage trees remain, battling with the willow to reach the sun.

A key goal of this restoration project is to lift the mauri (life force) of Te Opoko Paoa and to return it to being a place of biodiversity and ecological balance. This project is part of the PCG's Priority Project Programme, which supports landowners and the community in initiatives aimed at improving the health of water bodies in the Pōrangahau catchment.

Mātauranga suggests that harakeke once helped channel Taurekaitai during high flows and buffered the water to allow sediment to settle, forming the lagoon wall. The PCG plan is to replant harakeke very closely to create a barrier that will also exclude stock from the swamp, as riparian fencing is not viable in this high-flood zone. The harakeke cultivar, chosen for its whakapapa, is tāpoto, which has traditionally grown in the area. Tāpoto is prized by tangata whenua for its strong but very soft white muka (fibre). 

Another plant of significance that grows on the banks of the main Te Opoko Paoa outflow is rautahi (Carex geminata). Rautahi has a rhizomatous root system that helps holdthe sandy banks together and has leaves that bend with high water flows. Rautahi does not dislodge in floods, and has adapted to successive sedimentation deposits, with roots growing to 400-500mm under silt.

Over the past three years the PCG has helped this restoration project with:

Winter 2023

• 367m of fencing and the planting of 885 pioneer species with some additional tōtara, mānatu (ribonwood) and putaputawētā in the Withers Zone.

• 160 native species planted by the community in Northern Pakaaroa zone

• 950 harakeke and 168 rautahi (carex geminata) planted in the Flaxmill Bridge Taurekaitai Zone.

Winter 2024

• 420 kānuka and wetland species planted in the Withers Zone.

• 343 wetland species planted in the Northern Pakaaroa Zone.

• 600 rautahi planted in the Flaxmill Bridge Taurekaitai zone.

Activities planned for 2025

• 116 secondary species to infill plant in the Withers Zone.