NZ Landcare Trust’s Zipporah Ploeg, right, and Pirongia Enviro Group volunteer Faith Lyons started the day with some traditional weaving. Photo: Viv Posselt
Close on 200 people were at Ōhaupō’s Rotopiko wetlands to mark Sunday’s World Wetlands Day.
The celebration this year carried the theme ‘Wetlands and traditional knowledge: Celebrating cultural heritage’.
Spearheaded by the National Wetland Trust (NWT), it brought together various agencies and organisations that included Landcare Trust, the Te Awamutu Rotary Club, Waipā District Council and the Waikato Regional Council, DOC, Go Eco, and Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari.
Te Awamutu Rotary’s Chris Kay and Gill Johnston are great supporters of the club’s longstanding voluntary efforts at Rotopiko. Photo: Viv Posselt
The event is held across New Zealand to coincide with World Wetlands Day, which has been marked internationally on February 2 since the 1971 signing of the Convention on Wetlands Treaty. It serves to raise awareness about the importance of wetlands and highlight the work being done to preserve them in communities around the world.
The Rotopiko wetland forest and lake has been the hub of this region’s celebrations over the past six years and the annual event has turned into an information-packed family day, complete with activities, giveaways and refreshments, and a host of wetland education.
In line with this year’s theme, the NWT invited Ringi Morgan-Fifield, who works part-time with Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari, to offer up information and products linked to the rongoā, or traditional Māori herbal medicine, found within the wetlands.
Ringi Morgan-Fifield, who is a volunteer guide with Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari, talked about the benefits of rongoā, or Māori herbal medicine found in the wetlands. Photo: Viv Posselt
National Wetlands Trust deputy chairman Don Scarlet said the purpose of the day is to get people into wetlands, both physically and emotionally.
“I would say something like this collaboration of all those taking part has enabled us to take a fantastic step forward to get more Kiwis involved.”
Work at Rotopiko over the past year has centred on removing rats from within the wetlands fence, managing the exotic birds and planting up areas outside the fence that drain into the wetland.
Olivia and Oscar Purcell, with dad Adam Purcell, took time at the Go Eco stand to pick themselves a temporary tattoo from Go Eco man Paul Murray. Photo: Viv Posselt
Te Awamutu Rotarians Ainsley Wheatley and David Chisholm were churning out the sausages for the free hot dogs. Photo: Viv Posselt
Three-year-old Mason Corin from Leamington giving the corn hole a try. He was at the Go Eco stand with dad James Ranstead. Photo: Viv Posselt
Elly Pieper and Kylie Brewer, both members of Te Awamutu Rotary, kept the free hot dogs coming. Photo: Viv Posselt
Jenny Collies was heading up the Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari stand, complete with merchandise, information and a fun competition. Photo: Viv Posselt
Zipporah Ploeg from the National Landcare Trust points out a completed piupiu, a traditional Maori skirt made from woven flax. Photo: Viv Posselt
