Bexie Towle
Information on the progress being made on an ecological corridor linking Maungatautari and Pirongia maunga will form part of an Ecology Expo taking place at the Te Awamutu Museum on Sunday.
The event brings together groups working to revitalise Waipā’s natural ecology. This year’s lineup will include Project Echo, Maungatautari Sanctuary Mountain, Pirongia Te Aroaro o Kahu Restoration Society, Waipā District Council Waste Minimisation and Predator Free Te Awamutu/Taiea te Taiao.
The latter is a funded five-year project aimed at linking Maungatautari and Pirongia via an ecological corridor straddling the roughly 40km distance by planting along the Mangapiko Stream as it meanders through farmland and other properties. It was started in late 2021.
Bexie Towle, Taiea te Taiao Ecological Corridor project co-ordinator, said things are going well.
“We’ve had a lot of interest from landowners, even more than expected,” she said this week. “By its nature the project will take generations … forests don’t grow overnight, but we’ve been so pleased to see that the community is willing to take the first steps, whether retiring land, fencing waterways, planting trees or installing predator control. That’s been really positive.
“Considering all of this takes time and money, we are making progress much faster than expected.”
The project brings together several working groups, including from the Waikato Regional Council, Waipā District Council, NZ Landcare Trust, Pirongia Te Aroaro o Kahu Restoration Society and local iwi, and is aimed at increasing biodiversity, enhancing native species and boosting water quality.
An update on the corridor will form part of Sunday’s ‘Tui and Tama’s Eco Expo’ at the museum, a free Children’s Day event running from 10am to 2pm.
The expo will show locals what is being done in the area to help boost native plants and animals and outline ways in which families can get involved.
Bexie Towle, project co-ordinator on the Taiea te Taiao Ecological Corridor, with Puahue School children on a planting day held last year at the Puahue farm of Waipā mayor Susan O’Regan and her husband John Hayward. Photo: supplied
