A collaborative event at Lake Rotopiko on February 2 and involving several organisations in and around Te Awamutu will mark World Wetlands Day 2025.
The National Wetland Trust estimate that 500,000 birds roost at Rotopiko every night.
The day of family activities will include a wetlands discovery trail, multiple activities and games, a sausage sizzle and ice-cream van. There will also be give-aways and expert information on-hand on the ancient peat lake and kahikatea forest.
The day has been organised in collaboration with Rotary, Landcare Trust, the Waipā District Council, Department of Conservation (DOC) and the National Wetlands Trust.
A group of volunteers checks the tracking tunnels at the Rotopiko reserve.
World Wetlands Day is a global event celebrated annually on February 2. It is a United Nations designated day that serves to raise awareness about wetlands as well as mark the anniversary of the Convention on Wetlands, which was adopted as an international treaty in 1971.
Work being done at Lake Rotopiko was in the news last year as volunteers – many of them from the Te Awamutu Rotary Club – gathered regularly to help return the wetland to its original state. One of the most recent endeavours involved the slashing of the lower branches of a stand of kahikatea trees in order to deter roosting birds who leave behind them high concentrations of nutrients that jeopardise wider restoration projects at the lake. That was part of a research project launched in 2020 to address the problem birds.
The wetland was also visited by World Rotary president Gordon McInally last year.
The February 2 World Wetland Day at Lake Rotopiko will run from 10.30am to 2.30pm.
The National Wetland Trust estimate that 500,000 birds roost at Rotopiko every night.
