‘Urban wetland' one step closer for primary school

Otago Daily Times

21-05-2025

East Taieri School pupils Aubrey Gregory (left), 7, and Sophie Lind, 7, sit in a wheel barrow that Nixon Landreth, 8, holds while their classmates (from left) Beau Cawley, 8, Beau Hollands, 7, and Faulkner Stevenson, 7, hold gardening tools. Principal Jennifer Horgan (left) and enviroschools teacher Jo Hackfath watch proceedings. PHOTO: GREGOR RICHARDSON
A Dunedin school is looking forward to having an "urban wetland" in its playground.
The New Zealand Landcare Trust has received $15,000 from Air New Zealand's Every Corner Project that invests $1 million in community nature projects across the country to build a 343cu m wetland with East Taieri School.
The wetland would reduce flooding, improve stream health and provide hands-on environmental education opportunities.
The project was thought of by parent Craig Simpson, who had three children attend the school.
"I've got a passion for working and improving the environment," he said.
Mr Simpson was exploring the health of Quarry Creek and researching the creatures that live there with New Zealand Landcare Trust Otago regional co-ordinator Nicole Foote when they discovered the stream was struggling.
The creek flowed into the Owhiro Stream and the Taieri River and there was an area at the school that had been cleared of trees called "the wilderness" that would make a great wetlands and possibly improve the stream's health.
Building the wetlands would also provide an opportunity to learn about the environment in an interactive way.
He said the objective of building the wetlands was to improve stream health and provide a habitat for the in-stream aquatic life, including eels and native fish.
"We're in the edge of town and to be able to install an urban wetland would be very cool.
"It should help with flood mitigation to a degree and then obviously we've got all these learning opportunities with planting and interacting with nature, water holding capacity and hydrology."
Mr Simpson said the majority of the funding from Air New Zealand would help get earthworks done to divert the stream into the wetland.
He aimed to get resource consent by the end of winter and start work on the project in late spring. The project was estimated to cost about $35,000.
East Taieri enviroschools teacher Jo Hackfath said the children were really excited to get involved in the project.
"They are involved in every step of this process which is really neat."
Air New Zealand had also given six other community organisations and schools in Otago funding for projects, including the Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust Te Tautiaki Hoiho, Dunedin Environment Centre Trust and Kaikorai Primary School.
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