The Whangawehi Restoration Project group is hoping for success at this week's Green Ribbon Awards.
The project is one of the finalists, after their fourth application for the prestigious awards presented by the Minister for the Environment.
"This project is unique in Hawke's Bay and we hope that the hard work achieved by all our volunteers will be recognised and awarded by a prize in the 'Caring for our water' category," says Kathleen Mato, leader of the Whangawehi Catchment Management Group.
The Whangawehi restoration project is based around the remote Whangawehi River catchment on the east coast of Mahia. Its famous near neighbour is the Rocket Lab launch site.
The project started in 2011 to address the concerns of the Mahia community about the potential effects of a new wastewater system and other land uses on the water quality of the river, the estuary and the marine ecosystems outside the river mouth, which are all traditional food sources. Although the wastewater treatment was a necessary step to replace ageing and leaking septic tanks and deal with resulting stream pollution, it had its own environmental impacts that needed care.