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The Hutia te Rito project in Rotorua aims to break poverty cycles by providing jobs and restoring the Utuhina Stream.
Local jobseekers are hired to clear and replant the stream bank with native plants.
The project empowers workers with skills and beautifies the area, creating a safer community space.
A stream restoration project in the Rotorua suburb that inspired Once Were Warriors aims to show how jobs can break the “cycle of poverty”.
Fordlands Community Centre manager Maraea Pomana said the Utuhina Stream project, named Hutia te Rito, was four years in the making and was already a source of inspiration just weeks into the planned six months of work.
It is a collaboration between the community centre and the Ministry of Social Development, Rotorua Lakes Council and Bay of Plenty Regional Council.
Local jobseekers have been hired to clear the streambank and replant it with native plants along the stretch from behind the Huia Lyons Skate Park and Reserve to Harold Cres.
Two teams of five workers will complete the job in two 12-week stages, over six months. The first stage is about halfway through.
The Hutia te Rito project to restore part of the Utuhina Stream in Fordlands aims to have environmental, employment and community benefits.
Fordlands was the inspiration for the slum-like Pine Block in author Alan Duff’s novel-turned-movie Once Were Warriors. It has made a few headlines over the years for its high economic deprivation and youth crime.
Pomana, who worked at the community centre for four years before becoming manager a year ago, said she wanted to see her community make the news in a good light.
The men hired for Hutia te Rito were enrolled in the community centre’s employment service, which aimed to “break the cycle of poverty” by helping people prepare for and find jobs.
Two teams of five jobseekers are clearing the bank along the Utuhina Stream and will replant it with native plants.
The project would give the 10 workers job skills and experience, as well as beautifying the neighbourhood with native fauna to create a safer space for the community, particularly its youngest members.
It was also allowing the men to be “role models for the next generation” by being seen “cleaning up our neighbourhood” and contributing positively to the community and environment, she said.
The project was “bringing our vision into reality”.
“It has caused a lot of interest from other young men asking about jobs and opportunities.”
The project would clear the bank on one side of the stream but, ideally, it would extend to both sides, Pomana said.
Alex Wilson, Rotorua Lakes Council’s group manager community experience, said there had already been positive feedback about the project, which in turn helped inspire enthusiasm among the trainees.
“It’s fantastic to work with an enthusiastic community that is keen to contribute to beautifying their spaces for their neighbourhood to enjoy.”
The district council helped with planning Hutia te Rito and provided access to reserve land for trainees to gain skills in activities such as tree work, planting and vegetation control.
The regional council provided 3000 native plants for the project and helped with planning, equipment and herbicide, Rotorua catchments manager Helen Creagh said.
Its initial funding was $15,900 over two financial years.
Creagh said the project would create a safe and beautiful space for the Fordlands community, while improving the stream habitat and empowering locals with job skills.
She also hoped it would lead to less vandalism and rubbish dumping.
Ministry of Social Development regional commissioner Jacob Davies said helping people find employment was a focus for the ministry.
“Supporting people to develop the skills through work on this project is an important part of us helping improve their employment prospects.”
The ministry was subsidising the workers’ wages through its Flexi-Wage Project in the Community initiative, and was providing funding for extra training in areas including agrichemical use, first aid and chainsaw safety.
This helped beneficiaries gain job skills and prepare them for the labour market, and supported employers to hire staff by providing support and training to help candidates meet entry-level requirements.
For projects to qualify for Flexi-Wage, they must benefit the community or environment, and this project achieved both those outcomes, Davies said.
The ministry said details of the budget to support the project would require an Official Information Act request.
Pomana said the project had ministry funding of about $83,000 in total to support the 10 jobs.
