Meka Whaitiri visits Whangawehi

Meka Whaitiri, local MP for Ikaro – Raawhiti, came to visit the Whangawehi Catchment Management Group for updates on progress made so far. When Meka last came, the group had just received the Supreme Awards (for the Wairoa District) at the Trust Power Community Awards.  Back then, the restoration programme was just getting underway.

Meka was impressed to see that in only 18 months the group had fenced off most of the Whangawehi Stream, established 70 000 native trees and developed a school programme with Te Mahia School.

Work underway at Whangawehi

Two weeks ago, the Ministry for The Environment gave us the green light to start our restoration work on Homestead farm and the Taharoa Trust. Since then, our contractors have been busy catching up with a very challenging timeline.

Homestead : Trees have been removed and a new fenceline bladed on bothe sides of the river. A big thank you to HBRC who have assisted the group financially for this work.

Taharoa, a new fenceline is being bladed around the bush blocks.

The fence will be built early March providing the weather is still fine.

 

First school workshop at Te Mahia School


On Tuesday the 23/02/2016 we began our first Enviroschools/Whangawehi workshop here at school. This workshop was about starting to plan the beginning of a new school song. What do our children consider special at Te Mahia School? Why do they think living in Paradise is pretty cool? If you have a school song who is it for, (the intended audience). We as writers are writing for our whanau, community members, people who have not been to Mahia and future families and children who may enroll at Te Mahia School. We had to keep in mind when writing a song the following things. Minds are like flowers, have fun, be inspired by other songs you like listening to, be prepared to get rid of the parts you don’t like or attempts from your first go. Of course, Mahia Iz Paradise was our initial song to listen/view and was enormous inspiration for our task we were about to do. We also wanted our children to be a little clearer with different genre of music; Rap, Hip Hop, Reggae, Pop R&B, Rock, Waiata. We then had a go at writing a line or two and beginning this process. Whanau, there are already some catchy lyrics written down and we even had people on guitar and drums with potential music to match the lyrics. This was so much fun and highlighted how music is so good for the soul. Will keep you posted with how our next session goes and the progress we make. Exciting times!

Te Mahia school team

Upcoming Mountain Bike Ride

The Whangawehi Catchment Management Group is offering a one off opportunity this summer to discover the magnificent scenery of Mahia Penninsula by mountain bike.  This mountain bike ride will be another vehicle to promote the restoration project and raise awareness of the groups work.  This 25 kilometre loop will start (and finish) at the Mahia Fishing Club, Saturday 12th March 2016 at 10.30am with registration and safety briefing commencing from 9.30am.  The ride will include gravel roads and forestry tracks with some steep gradients along the way.   Hopefully the scenery will make this effort all worth while.  Bring all your gear, plenty of water and lunch.  A sausage sizzle will be provided after the event.  If you require any further information please contact Project Co-Ordinator Nic Caviale-Delzescaux on 06 838 8527.  Keep an eye on whangawehi.com for last minute updates.

Download flyer :Mountain Bike poster January 2016

Maara kai Competition

The last Matauranga Maori workshop for the Mahia school year ended with a cook off between students involving traditional foods at Rauwharo Marae.  Local Kuia Sophie Dodds shared her passion and knowledge of traditional food preparation using Kelp and Sean Gaskin judged the final plates.  Mr Gaskin demonstrated making kale chips and hummus and for lunch the students enjoyed potatoes, kumara, herbs and sausages cooked in kelp bags.  The day concluded with their silver Environmental School presentation from Wairoa Enviro-schools co-ordinator Jenni Scothern-King. A big thank you to Ruawharo Marae, Mr Gaskin and Jenni Scothern for organising such a fantastic day. Nga mihi nui kia koutou.

Whangawehi summer programme : presentations and guided walks

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The Whangawehi community is proud to present its summer programme : WhangawehiGuidedWalks2015. Over the next two months, we will be attending some of the most popular events taking place in the Wairoa District to inform you on the projects’ latest news. Guided walks will also be offered to showcase some of the great work achieved so far. All these events are free so don’t miss out and come along with your family and friends…you will be amazed by some of the landscapes and stories you are going to capture.
Please check for updates as the guided walks are weather permitting.
See you there.

Check out our programme :WhangawehiGuidedWalks2015

Last day for our fundraising campaign

The Whangawehi Catchment Management Group (https://whangawehi.com/) needs your help with the restoration of the Whangawehi stream, on the beautiful Mahia Peninsula on the East Coast of the North Island of New Zeland. As you know, this Awa is vitally important to our community – culturally, physically and spiritually. Our vision is to improve water quality, restore biodiversity and engage with our local school to forge the next generation of Gardians / Kaitiaki. Our community has already come together and made fantastic progress with 4.5 km of fencing and 16 000 trees established last winter. Now we need your help for this winter’s planting programme. We are crowd funding for the plants for two restoration projects on two farms : Taharoa/Grandy Lake Forest and Pongaroa Station. Our campaign finishes today so we urgently need your support.

If you want to be part of our journey, check us out and donate at http://millionmetres.org.nz/donate/  We would also be grateful if you could share this email with anyone who you think could help.

Thank you

ファンガウェヒ集水管理グループ(https://whangawehi.com/)は、ニュージーランド北島の東海岸に位置する、美しいマヒア半島を流れるファンガウェヒ川を再生することを目的として結成した団体です。ファンガウェヒ川はこの地域社会にとって、文化的、物理的、そして精神的にとても重要です。私たちのビジョンは、その水質を改善し、生物多様性を取り戻し、地元の子供たちを保全活動に参加せることによって次世代の「ファンガウェヒ川の守護者(マオリ語ではカイティアキ、英語ではガーディアン)を育成することです。今日まで、すでに川沿いに4.5kmわたって柵をたて、昨年の冬には1万6千本の植樹を達成しました。このほか、グループは地域の2農場(タハロア・グランディーレイクフォレスト農場とポンガロア農場)におけるプロジェクトの資金援助もしています。

 

Rae Te Nahu our Local Hero

Yesterday night, Rae Te Nahu was offered a Local Hero Award for her dedication, selflessness and commitment to the Mahia Community. Rae is involved in a wide range of community projects, always humble and hard working. Yesterday night was her night, she even had the privilege to be invited by Meng Foon, Mayor of Gisborne, to a restaurant. On behalf of the Whangawehi Catchment Management Group, we congratulate you for this well deserved award and hope that this is only the beginning. Thank you Rae for the impact you make in our Community.

 

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