Te Arawa Lakes Trust landowners started work with Bay of Plenty Regional and Western Bay of Plenty District Councils to restore the 22 hectare Whakapoukorero wetland, in Maketū, last week.
Following an opening ceremony during which local kaumātua blessed the project and Te Arawa Lakes Trust representative Te Waata Cribb recited a Karakia o te Ao Tawhito (ancient Māori prayer), bulldozers moved in to start clearing pampas and other weeds from the site.
Project Manager Terry Tapsell said that the wetland is an important part of the community's past, present and future.
"We have just a small remnant left of the once vast 6,500 hectare Kawa Swamp that covered the coastal plain around Maketu."
Before it was drained for farming, our tupuna (ancestors) relied on the swamp for food, trade and building materials.