Connecting with raupō focus of wetland day

Kennzy Hotene needs help to keep the region’s biggest wetland in shape. Picture supplied

This Friday is World Wetland Day, and a perfect opportunity to pitch in to help with volunteers looking after the region’s biggest wetland.

The kaupapa this year is Wetlands and Human Wellbeing Ngā Repo me te Oranga Tonutanga. The small volunteer community group the Maungarongo Wetland Restoration Project is focusing on hononga  (connection) to the region’s often neglected taonga raupō.

“So if  you’re doing nothing on World Wetland Day, come and help us clear and harvest raupō between 9.30am and 2.30pm at Te Maungarongo,” said organiser Kenzzy Hotene, who runs the  organisation with her 65-year-old uncle.

“This year we are focusing on raupō which grows abundantly in our wetlands. It is an under- resourced natural product and we want to show the public how amazing it is. Te Maungarongo Wetlands is the largest wetland on the Tūranga Flats and makes up 52 percent of all the wetlands in Te Tairāwhiti.”

The impacts of the cyclones last year and heavy rainfall the previous year resulted in record-breaking groundwater levels that were unavoidable.

Gisborne District Council was also helping monitor the situation, she said.

“Those significant rain events prompted a need to develop a Fresh Water Management Plan, which is what we have spent the last 12 months doing.

“Due to the high groundwater levels, we lost a large number of trees due to ‘wet feet’. Despite this loss, we gained an incredible amount of bird life to the wetlands.

“Every rain event, the wetlands act as a safe haven for many of the birds that usually sit on the Waipaoa River. We had white and grey herons, pūkeko, royal spoonbill, kingfisher, black swans and hundreds of ducks, to name a few.

“Last year one of our neighbours cleared 500 metres of exotic trees, pampas and blackberry bush on our wetland margin which will be planted out this year. It is  the support of neighbours like these that speeds up the restoration work. We are continuously trying to mitigate the problems we face on the wetland.

“Our major concern, and what we need ongoing support with, is we are always battling with water run-off and our ability to maintain the water quality.

“We have a fish passage issue that makes it difficult for eels to enter into the wetlands. Fish passage helps to bring in birds like the Australasian bittern and is a huge part of creating a habitat for rare birds.

“We have an ongoing battle with invasive exotic trees and weeds and pests.

“The ultimate goal is to have the entire oxbow planted out in natives, clean water for the entire community to enjoy, and to create a whare to run educational programmes in te reo Māori and in English.”

In line with the day’s kaupapa of wetlands and human wellbeing,  “we want to reconnect people to the wetlands by actually getting in to the water to harvest the raupō”.

“We have found that it’s a great way to bring people together for a common purpose,” Ms Hotene said.

“We are focusing on our hononga with raupō, which grows abundantly on our wetlands and we need to use it.

“It is an amazing natural resource that is used for many things — weaving, tukutuku panels (lattice work used to decorate wharenui or meeting houses, manu tukutuku (Māori kites) traditional poi making, mōkihi, a form of raft made from raupō, and whare raupō, or thatched housing.

“You can eat the rhizome and the root (aka) of the raupō which has a texture and taste similar to a cucumber,

“The hotdog looking part of the raupō, also known as konehu raupō, was used to make a fine powder to make cakes and bread.

“We want to share this mātauranga (knowledge) along with the narrative of our tīpuna Te Kooti Rikirangi with those who want to come and help us harvest. Once we have done the drying process of the raupō we will be looking at holding wānanga on making some of those things.”