Whangarei's Waiarohia Stream gets some love in new project

Neighbours of a central Whangarei stream have joined forces in an effort to clean the stream up.

Students from Whangarei Intermediate School and Whangarei Boys' High School as well as staff from Manaia PHO, Whangarei District Council, Northland Regional Council, and Sistema spent about an hour and a half yesterday picking up rubbish from the Waiarohia Stream and along the banks.

In that time, the 60 volunteers covered a stretch of about 500m and filled about 20 rubbish bags with rubbish.

Manaia PHO health promotion manager Ngaire Rae said the rubbish included a microwave, a PlayStation, scrap metal, a suitcase full of clothes and lots of plastic food packaging - chip packets, drink bottles, straws and more.

Whangarei Intermediate School lead Enviroschools teacher Tom Peyton picks up rubbish from the bank of the Waiarohia Stream. Photo/Michael Cunningham

The clean up is the first in a project called Arohatia Waiarohia (Love Waiarohia). The name expresses the concern and care being given to the stream which winds past the school grounds, through the central city and feeds into the Whangarei Harbour.

Manaia PHO chief executive Donovan Clarke said some of the staff had noticed the amount of rubbish in and around the stream and thought they needed to do something about it.

"We talked to our neighbour Whangarei Intermediate School and they'd been thinking the same thing - something needs to be done to look after Waiarohia Stream."

The group have a safety briefing before getting to work in and around the Waiarohia Stream. Photo/Michael Cunningham

Whangarei Intermediate School's Ecowarrior group will help drive the project.

Ms Rae said after picking up the rubbish the students sorted it on a large tarpaulin to see what could be recycled.

She said the clean up was an eye-opener in terms of the amount of plastic that can end up in the sea.

"People need to be thinking about 'do they really need that plastic and what are they doing with that plastic'?"

The Waiarohia Stream winds past the school grounds, through the central city and into the Whangarei Harbour. Photo/Michael Cunningham

The group are planning future efforts to clean up and protect the stream. Next steps include riparian planting, using plants grown in the Intermediate school's shade house.

"It's an important project because our health and the health of our community is connected to the health of the stream," Ms Rae said.

The group has heard there was previously a 'Friends of Waiarohia' group that was involved in cleaning up the stream and are asking for anyone who knows anything about this group to contact Ms Rae or Tom Peyton at Whangarei Intermediate School.