To help businesses look after the catchment, the Kia Mouriora te Kaiwharawhara Sanctuary to Sea collective started an initiative called Te Ohu Kaiwharawhara (previously Every Business Restoring Nature), which supports businesses to take nature-positive steps in their workplace.

Did you know that the Kaiwharawhara is the only catchment in Wellington City with an open estuary connected to Wellington Harbour? Beginning in Zealandia Te Māra a Tāne, the Kaiwharawhara catchment is home to many fish species which need to move between fresh and saltwater to complete their lifecycle.

The focus of the 2024 translocation was to help secure the newly establishing population in the sanctuary and to allow us to practice using a mātauranga Māori collection method called whakaweku. 

A traditional mātauranga Māori method has been used successfully to collect freshwater fish in the latest translocation at Zealandia Te Māra a Tāne.

One hundred and thirty-nine toitoi/common bully (Gobiomorphus cotidianus) were collected from Kohangapiripiri in the Parangarahu Lakes area in late April and early May. 

Whakaweku, a traditional Māori catching method made from bundles of rārahu/bracken fern, was successfully trialled as one of the collection methods.  

Zealandia and mana whenua partners Taranaki Whānui ki te Ūpoko o te Ika have begun releasing the fish at the Wellington ecosanctuary after a period of quarantine. 

The 2024 collection of toitoi has now happened! A small team joined a group of Taranaki Whānui ki te Ūpoko o te Ika whānau on April 20th  to collect toitoi from Kohangapiripiri at Parangarahu Lakes. These ika/fish are now in quarantine at Zealandia for around four weeks to ensure they are nice and healthy before we release them into Roto Māhanga.

In Aotearoa New Zealand, we have over 50 species of native freshwater fish and over 70% of them are threatened or at risk. Science communicator and Senior Communications Advisor, Gini explains how we can have an impact on the barriers freshwater species face.   

How do we restore the mouri that has been lost?  

This is a complex task, but Kia Mouriora Te Kaiwharawhara Sanctuary to Sea (KMK/S2S) is tackling it, with a 100-year goal of restoring the mouri, or lifeforce, of the Kaiwharawhara catchment.   

However, we all need to do our part to help restore the mouri of the Kaiwharawhara and other urban water ways across the country.   

Read this article to find out how you can help the health of your local awa. 

In Wellington City, the Kaiwharawhara catchment is special – it's the biggest stream system, and it's the only one with an open estuary into  Wellington harbour. Nate Rigler, leading our Kia Mouriora te Kaiwharawhara Sanctuary to Sea project, reflects on the rich history of the Kaiwharawhara, shares the challenges it's facing, and reveals a powerful truth.  

Across twelve weeks, Zealandia Te Māra a Tāne staff sat down with RadioActive host, Don Luchito to share how to live with nature. 

Over the last few years, the plastic free movement has taken off. Plastic bags are no longer given out at supermarkets, keep cups are a staple at cafes and recently plastic cutlery has been banned across the country. In a time where plastic reduction has become so normalised, have you ever thought about the use of plastic flowers in cemeteries?