KCC Wild Things 163 Winter 2024

Wild Wetlands

EDITOR: Rebecca Hatch

ART DIRECTOR/DESIGNER: Rob Di Leva, Dileva Design

COVER: Pāteke | Brown teal Rob Suisted

PRINTING: Webstar, Auckland • ISSN 2230-2565 Copyright:

To join KCC and receive Wild Things, or to receive our free E-news, go to www.kcc.org.nz

Illustration: Studio C

Wild Things is published by Forest & Bird, Phone 0800 200 064 Email office@forestandbird.org.nz PO Box 631, Wellington 6140.

Wetlands receive water from the sky; from runoff; from rivers, streams, or the ocean; or from underground.

Repo can be natural, restored (brought back), or constructed (human made).

Repo | Wetlands are areas of land that are covered in water, or are saturated (soaked) by it.

They’re “transitional” environments — the link between the dry whenua | land and roto | lakes, awa | rivers, and the moana | sea.

There are so many different sorts of wetlands in Aotearoa — more than we’ve named here even!

The water in wetlands can be fresh, salty, or brackish (a mixture of fresh and salty). Some repo are wet all the time; others only sometimes. The amount of water can depend on the season, or on rainfall.

Because wetlands don’t always look, or sound, too flash (think “bog”), it’s meant they haven’t been appreciated for how incredibly special and important they are.

Wetlands –

• purify our water and help keep lakes and rivers clean

• provide for many different momo māori | native species, and for people too

• protect us from floods and erosion. They’re amazing carbon sinks.

Let’s give wetlands the they deserve!

Another te reo Māori word for wetlands is kūkūwai.

Maze

Wetlands are ara | passageways/corridors that make migratory journeys possible. Without them, remarkable native fish, like tuna | NZ eels, couldn’t move freely.

Can you help the young eels travel through this wahapū | estuary to the awa, and the tuna heke | migrating adult eel travel to the moana?

After many years of living in freshwater (usually between 15 and 40 years), mature longfin and shortfin tuna make a 2000km journey to somewhere between Tonga and New Caledonia to breed. It takes 6 months or so to travel there! They only breed once, and then they die.

Help tuna reach the sea.

Help the glass eels reach the river. Glass eels turn into "elvers" in the estuary.

Tuna hatch as larvae, and then drift on ocean currents back to Aotearoa. It can take 17 months to get here. When they get close to New Zealand shores, they turn into glass eels.

How do repo | wetlands filter freshwater to make it cleaner?

Step ➊ Cut a plastic bottle in half and set it up as in the picture. Line the top part with a well-folded paper towel, then fill it up with stuff like soil, sand, gravel, dead leaves, fresh leaves, and grass.

Step ➋ Pour some muddy/dirty water into the top of the model.

It’s all to do with what's happening within wetlands.

• Water slows right down when it is flowing through wetlands. Repo have water-loving soils that act like a sponge, and vegetation (plant life) that gets in the way. Sediments (like sand or silt) and organic matter (like leaf litter) in the water have time to drop and settle down on the bottom of the repo, rather than moving on to rivers and lakes. The scientific name for this is “particle settling”.

• The roots of wetland plants take up nutrients (like nitrogen and phosphorus) and pollutants (like zinc and lead) for the plants to store and use, removing them from the water. Wetland algae and bacteria do this as well.

• Natural chemical reactions and cycles happen within wetlands. These transform and break down pollutants and nutrients. Video instructions found here.

Step ➌ Compare the muddy water with the water filtered through the wetland model.

Wetlands are often referred to as “nature’s kidneys”.

Hauhau/Waikaka/ Kōwaro | Mudfish are amazing – they can survive in wetlands when, at times, there is no surface water at all. This is something most other fish can’t do!

Wonderful wetland

Kōura | Freshwater crayfish are ancient. They have been around for 60–80 million years in Zealandia’s freshwaters. They are a taonga species for Māori.

estep

Rod Morris

Kelvin Perrie

Jordan Kappelly

Alert!

Wonderful species

The flyway (traditional route) for kuaka | bar-tailed godwits from Aotearoa to Alaska is based on a rest and refuel stop at the Yalu Jiang coastal wetland, on the border of China and North Korea. Kuaka couldn’t make the 11,000km journey to Alaska without it!

Did you know that some pūkeko | swamp hens do “joint-laying”? That’s when many females will lay eggs in the same nest, and then many males will take turns sitting on all those eggs. The whole group, even those who didn’t breed, care for the chicks together too.

Kahikatea | White pines are our tallest native trees, reaching over 60m. They thrive in swamps, making swamp forests.

roots?

At Arohaki Lagoon (Whirinaki Forest Park). Pseudopanax

This plant is wahu | alpine sundew. It lives in bogs up in the mountains, and eats insects!

FACT: About 30% of birds in Aotearoa are found in wetlands.

Usually with ducks, it is the male who is more brightly coloured, but with our endemic pūtangitangi | paradise shelducks, it’s the female who is more striking.

David Hallet

wetlands in the lower Waikato region? One of their favourite foods is pūriri moths, which like wetland plants like mānuka and putaputawētā | marbleleaf. But, as wetland habitats were lost in the area, ruru had to adapt (change) and find new places to live, like introduced gum and pine trees. This knowledge comes from kōrero between Manaaki Whenua | Landcare Research and local Māori iwi and whānau. It is part of the body of mātauranga o te taiao | environmental knowledge held and passed on within the rohe | area.

Rob Suisted

Phil Bendle

Kōtare | Kingfishers are found commonly in coastal wetlands, like mangrove swamps, tidal estuaries, and mudflats. They have amazing eyesight, and very strong beaks. All the better when you hunt live prey and swallow it whole!

FACT: About 40% of plants and animals in the world live and breed in wetlands.

Jordan Kappelly

Oscar Thomas

Challenge Patai

Matuku-hūrepo | Australasian bitterns are masters of stealth – rarely being seen, or heard, within the raupō | bullrushes. Can you get a of you being just as camouflaged within your environment?

Email your photo in to kcc@forestandbird. org.nz by 14 July 2024 and be in to win one of 10 prizes!

This bittern is in characteristic "freezepose", pretending to be a reed. Emma Williams

johnstones

Aotearoa has seven sites on the Ramsar list in 2024. Each is a wetland (or has wetlands) that not only hold national, but international importance. How many of them can you visit?

The Ramsar Convention is an environmental agreement that New Zealand and many other countries signed in 1971. It is all about working together to ensure the

Find out more about each site on the Wetlands Trust website wetlandtrust.org.nz

Manawatū Estuary

Department

Firth of Thames

Kopuatai Peat Dome

Awarua Waituna Lagoon

Wairarapa Moana Wetlands

Farewell Spit

Whangamarino Wetland

Lessons from Wetlands

For dealing with extra water

Slow it

Water that moves more slowly will do less damage.

Spread it

Water with enough space/s to move and settle is more easily managed.

Sink it

“Pervious” (absorbing) surfaces get the water off the surface.

Store it

Extra water can be helpful and useable/reusable in the future.

Taking action

By Marianna (age

11) from Christ the King School (Auckland).

In 2023, my Year 5/6 class undertook a year-long pūtātara | call to action project about stormwater. We worked with the Healthy Waters team at Auckland Council.

We had just had the Auckland Anniversary flooding occur on January 27th, the flooding affecting all of us in one way or another. Our teacher, Mrs Sullings, said that this was our chance to try and understand why the flooding occurred, and what could possibly be done by the Council, and Government, to try to prevent another flooding disaster.

Our big idea was “flooding is inevitable, but flooding disasters are not.”

We dove in straight away and began learning day after day about stormwater. We looked back in time to the first Roman stormwater systems. We found out about our local Waihorotiu Stream, a covered-over awa in Central Auckland that Council once investigated “daylighting” (that’s removing the concrete from on top of it). We learnt about the primary and secondary systems of the stormwater system, water-sensitive design (mimicking nature and protecting natural water systems, like wetlands), and how making space for water can help prevent flooding disasters.

Did you know that as our population has grown, we have built more “impervious” surfaces that prevent water from being absorbed – like concrete?

During our learning we went on a huge number of trips. We went to MOTAT, Hobsonville Point, Albany Lakes, Keith Hay Park, and Freeland Reserve. We walked around our community. We even went to Wesley Primary School to interview the Principal about how their school was affected by the flooding. All this real-world hands-on learning really helped us to understand what we were learning and why we were learning it, rather than just sitting in our desks and writing it all down.

When it came time to apply what we had learnt, and to share it, we worked in groups to design models. We got to be town planners, designers, and engineers! Before we could get started making the models though, we needed to get our plans signed off.

Our designs needed to correct stormwater overflow for a variety of types of buildings that are in our local area and pass the inspection of the council (Mrs Sullings). All of our images had to match up, and we had to be able to explain what infrastructure we were adding to our models (both for the primary and secondary systems), including water-sensitive design infrastructure to help avoid a flooding disaster. It had to be clear on why we were doing it, and how it would help.

None of our groups got signed off on the first try, but we were successful on the 3rd or 4th try.

We took lots of photos to document what we saw during our walks in the community.

Our models were all based on a street in our Wesley suburb, which had been flooded in the January floods. We used LEGO and 3D printers to create the infrastructure we needed on our models. We created PowerPoint presentations about our work too.

I was amazed at how many people from different walks came to listen to us present. When we started the project, one of the first things we said was, “Why are we doing this Miss? We’re just kids, no one will listen to us!”, but our voices were heard, and what we had to say appreciated.

I learnt that stormwater systems are very complicated. What we have in place now isn’t wrong, but it’s just not working today. I hope that lots of other people will be inspired to research and find solutions for the future.

Our presentation evening at school. We also presented at the MOTAT Conference and the Healthy Waters Roadshow.

We 3D printed gutters and downpipes. They direct the water where we want it to go.

Natural floodplains are restored to make room for the stream to swell. There is lots of riparian planting to strengthen the stream banks.

This is a depressed roundabout. It draws the runoff from the road to the drain inside the roundabout. Inside the drain is vegetation.

Rain gardens and tree pits capture rainwater and absorb it when drains are overflowing.

Roof gardens use rainwater. They create less pressure on gutters and downpipes.

Here’s a rain tank design that was 3D printed. Rain tanks mean you can reuse rainwater.

Energy dissipators – like rocks in streams – slow down the water. We need to look after the health of the natural water systems too.

This is a settlement pond with a scruffy dome. Scruffy domes make it faster to empty.

Put nature first

Aotearoa has lost about 90% of its original repo | wetlands – and they’re still disappearing.

That adds up to 2.25 million hectares of wetlands lost so far –the same as 13 and a half Rakiura | Stewart Islands.

For a healthy environment, scientists say we need at least 20% of each ecosystem type to be present – so, the area of wetlands in NZ needs to double. We desperately need to protect what’s left, restore (bring back) wetlands, and recreate them where we can!

In 2020, there was real progress made for nature in the passing of the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management (NPSFM). But, the Government now wants to change it.

What is planned instead looks like it will greatly reduce the protections in place for repo and other freshwaters they connect with.

Why have we lost wetlands?

n Wetlands have been drained, filled in, built on, or modified (changed) so towns, cities, farms, landfills, and mines could be built or expanded.

n Invasive plants and animals have come in and taken over wetland ecosystems.

n People haven’t been aware of how special and important wetlands are.

n Economic interests (money/profits) have been put before nature.

Northland

Before human settlement

Northland

Present day

See the loss of wetlands in your region here

Did you know that wetlands actually store twice as much carbon as our ngahere | forests? What climate heroes!

Send the Prime Minister an important postcard

Let the Government know that you want them to put nature first!

Put nature first for all creatures!

What to do:

Photocopy or trace this page, then colour it in. Cut out the front of the postcard, and the back. Stick them on the front and back of a piece of card the same size. Sign the card (and add a PS if you’d like, maybe with a cool fact about wetlands). Post to the Prime Minister for free.

Dear Prime Minister

I want to be able to swim in our rivers, streams, and lakes without getting sick – just like people your age once could.

Prime Minister

Freepost Parliament

Private Bag 18888

Parliament Buildings Wellington 6160

I also care about our freshwater fish, birds, and bugs. They need healthy, swimmable waterways too. The water is their home!

Please don’t change the standards for freshwater.

Signed,

Mānawatia a Matariki

Waitī and Waipunarangi

Wetlands have connections to the realms of both Waitī and Waipunarangi, two of the nine whetū of the Matariki star cluster.

This Matariki or Puanga:

n Reflect on the importance of wetlands.

n Visit local wetlands and share their stories.

n Plan/Act to protect and restore wetlands for the future.

E tū Waitī e

He wai whakaata

He wai Māori

He wai oranga e

Behold Waitī

Reflecting water

Freshwater

Water that brings life

E tū Waipunarangi e

He ua kōnehunehu

He ua kōpatapata

He ua hūkerikeri

Behold Waipunarangi

It is a drizzle

It is a light shower

It is a deluge

Illustrations: Ministry for the Environment (MFE) Whakataukī: Rangi Mātāmua/ MFE

Te Whakapapa o te Poi

Retold by

Michaella Luxton

Bushy Park Tarapuruhi Education Coordinator

In the heart of the repo, where the whispers of ancient trees harmonise with the songs of birds, a tale unfolds.

Meet Tāne-mahuta, a powerful atua whose very breath stirs the leaves and guides the growth of the forest. Legend has it he brought light to the world by parting his parents, Ranginui, the sky father, and Papatūānuku, the earth mother, creating an oasis for all living beings to flourish below.

Tāne-mahuta sculpted the grand ngahere, a place of life, food, resources, and tools. He is not just a guardian but a companion to every tree, plant, and creature in his realm. The birds, his messengers, flit through the canopy, carrying whispers from one end of the ngahere to the other.

The birds knew Hine-i-te-repo, the embodiment of the wetlands. She was a home for countless manu, critters, and plants alike; a place where water comes forth to feed the surrounding whenua.

One special day, Tāne-mahuta was led by his birds to Hine-i-te-repo. He saw how she supported his creatures and together they wove a relationship of aroha and creation.

Their union birthed the raupō, a plant that sprang from their shared love of living things. Raupō, with its swaying reeds and long leaves, became a resource for the tāngata, and the poi was born.

The poi was used by Māori, utilising the fibres of raupō as the outer wrapping and the fluffed-up seeds as stuffing. The poi became an important part of everyday life through music, storytelling, dance, and combat.

When we see the raupō growing on the edges of our wetlands, we are reminded of the enduring bond and the wairua that flows through the whenua. In the repo where atua and nature intertwine, Tāne-mahuta and Hine-i-te-repo’s whakapapa lives on.

Making Poi

By Michaella Luxton

In our modern day, we use a variety of resources to make our poi. While we can still harvest natural wetland materials, like raupō and harakeke, it is important to make sure our practices are toitū | sustainable.

See what you have around your home that may already go to waste and could be repurposed into something we will use often. You shouldn’t need to buy anything to make your poi.

You’ll need:

Equipment:

Scissors, Tape, Can/Jar

Resources:

n For the taura | cord and hukahuka | tassel – A good amount of string/wool. Small scraps are helpful but you will need a couple of extra long pieces.

n For the upoko | head (inner) – Something soft you can mould into a ball. Think stuffing from old pillows/toys. Also, find some thin plastic, fabric, or paper you can reuse to hold it together in a ball shape.

n For the upoko | head (outer) – Something thin that can cover the ball shape. Think material/fabric from an old t-shirt, or an old sock.

➊

Prepare the taura

Measure out nine lengths of wool for the cord. For longer poi, the wool should stretch from your index finger to your elbow and back; for shorter poi, it only needs to reach your elbow. Set these lengths of wool aside.

➋ Create the hukahuka

LOOSELY wrap wool around a can about 30 times to form the tassel that will sit at the end of the string.

➌ Thread the wool

Slide the circle of wool off the can and thread the nine lengths of wool evenly through the circle.

Kupu Māori

n Rere atu – fly away

n Rere mai – fly to me

n Rere runga – fly above

n Rere raro – fly below

n Poi kia mau – poi get ready

n Poipoitia – poi whirl and slap (as in spin and slap on your hand)

n Poi ki raro – poi stop and by your side

n Poi porotiti – poi spin

n Poi tapatapa – poi slap, slap (as in a rhythm or beat)

➍ Secure the hukahuka and taura

Tie a knot around the circle with the nine lengths of wool. Then tie another knot above the first one to secure the tassel and cord in place. Cut through the bottom of the loop to create the tassel.

➎ Plait the wool

Place an object on the tassel end of your poi. Divide the wool into three groups with three strands each, and plait them together. Leave around 10cm loose at the end.

➏ Make the upoko

Use whatever resource you have sourced to create a ball about the size of a tennis ball. Find a way to tie the end cords of your tassel to the ball. Use tape to secure the shape of your ball if needed.

Note: Weight is important! A shorter poi needs to be lighter than a longer poi.

➏ Secure the upoko

Gather the edges of the outer wrapping you have sourced around the head neatly. Trim any excess material. Wind a piece of wool around the top and tie a knot.

Exploring a wetland

Dip netting

Keep your eyes peeled, and act with stealth, and you’ll notice a lot of what’s living around the repo | wetland; but to see what is living in the water, you’ll need to use a special tool!

Scotty Moore, KCO for KCC Whanganui, shares with us five top tips and tricks for dip netting.

Dip your net, and sweep it slowly. You’re more likely to catch something.

Take water for the viewing container from the wetland you’re studying – it will make the experience less of a shock for the wetland invertebrates.

Make sure to dip and sweep your net at different levels and in different habitats. Different species can be found near the bottom, in the middle, and at the top of the water, as well as under vegetation, or under banks.

When you’re ready to transfer, carefully turn your net inside-out over the viewing container, and gently wipe it over the surface of the water. If you quickly tip your net over and/or give it a big shake, you could hurt the invertebrates or plants, lose them, or miss them!

Taiho | Hold up!

Has your equipment been checked, cleaned, and dried? It is really easy to spread invasive species and diseases across waterways if we aren’t careful!

A white-coloured viewing container (like an ice cream container or tote tray) is best – it helps you to see the invertebrates and plants more easily.

Want to make your own dip-net at home or school? Go to our website for step-by-step instructions.

Take an adult with you if you’re exploring water.

Net turned inside-out

Exploring a wetland

Invertebrate ID Chart

Having trouble telling us apart? Look at body shape, count tails and legs, and if you can, check out mouth parts.

Less than 3mm long

Reti hāroto | Pond skater/Water strider

Up to 6mm long

Hoehoe tuarā | Water boatman

We look quite similar. How can you tell us apart?

Pāpapa ruku | Diving beetles

Up to 6mm long

Pepeke kaukiore | Backswimmer

Typically 3–12mm

Exploring a wetland

Invertebrate ID Chart

I’m an arachnid –like a spider. How many legs will I have?

wai | Water mites

Having trouble telling us apart? Look at body shape, count tails and legs, and if you can, check out mouth parts.

Nahonaho | Common midge larvae or “bloodworm”

Noke ngongo | Leeches

Kapowai | Dragonfly nymphs

Punua poraka | Tadpoles (introduced)

Kihitara/Tīemiemi | Damselflies

Can you find the differences between these two pictures of a wetland? You’ll find out what wetlands need to be healthy, so you can aroturuki | monitor (check on) them!

your whakautu | answers at kcc.org.nz. Search “wetlands”.

Build a wetland bug

By Esmé Dawson

How to play:

➊ Cut out the kapowai | dragonfly body pieces. We’ve given you two sets, but photocopy if you need more.

➋ Make the spinner.

➌ All players get a set of legs to start.

➍ Take turns spinning the spinner to collect one of each of the other five body parts (wings, thorax, abdomen, head, and antennae).

➎ Better luck next time if you land on a piece you’ve already got.

➏ First person to collect all the body parts and put them together in the right order is the winner.

Ponderer

Why are dragonflies suited to a wetland environment? Find out and let us know your answer!

How to make the spinner:

➊ Cut out spinner circle.

➋ Back it with cardboard.

➌ Place the small end of a paper clip on top of the black circle.

➍ Push a drawing pin through the middle of the black circle to hold the paper clip.

➎ Spin away!

FACT: Adult dragonflies and damselflies are easy to mix up. Remember that dragonflies sit with their wings flat, but damselflies sit with them folded above their back.

CUT ME OUT

CUT OUT ALL THE BODY PARTS

Nature Walks

Lake Rotopiko | Ōhaupō

Visit a really old peat lake that’s been around since New Zealand’s last ice age.

It now has a clever fence protecting its wetland creatures from pesky rats and stoats. One of the coolest critters here is Fred the Thread, maybe the thinnest caterpillar in the world! Look for Fred’s small, wiggly lines on the tall cane stems as you follow the handson activity trail looping around the lake.

Stand on the floating platforms and peer into the teacoloured water. You might see insects zipping around, native water-loving plants (macrophytes), or perhaps bog-dwelling waikaka | black mudfish lurking in the shallows. Even super long kūwharuwharu | longfin eels and pekapeka | long-tailed bats live here, and sometimes you might see a very shy bird called a pūweto | spotless crake.

Then, walk through a spooky wetland forest straight out of Jurassic times! Imagine giant flightless moa roaming among the huge kahikatea trees in the swampy forest. It’s like a real-life dinosaur movie.

Finish your adventure on the grassy hill overlooking the wetland – a great place to chill out and munch on some tasty snacks.

Join Forest & Bird Youth

We’re a nationwide network of young people who are protecting and restoring Aotearoa's wildlife and wild places.

n For ages 14–25 years. Led by Youth, for Youth.

n Help Papatūānuku by gaining skills and experience.

n Connect with like-minded people from across Aotearoa.

Find out more about joining us: bit.ly/FandBYouth

Need to know:

n Activity maps are available near the trail entrance.

n Walking only.

n Allow 1 hour for the loop.

n Toilet available.

n 4 km south of Ōhaupō.

n The entrance is accessible southbound only on SH3 between Sowerby and Jary Roads.

n No dogs.

Ceana Priest is the author of kid-friendly Outdoor Kid adventure guidebooks outdoorkid.co.nz

Be part of making Aotearoa predator-free by 2050.

Donate a trap to a specific group

Donate funds to the cause

Conservation Heroes

Charlie (age 13) has been running a trapline behind Karori Park in Wellington with his dad since 2022.

Why do you do trapping?

It’s great to get outdoors and do something that is helping nature. There are lots of birds and other animals found only here in New Zealand, and we want to preserve them for the future. I ideally want to work with kākāpō for a job, and so doing backyard trapping now for rats and mice is going to help me learn skills, and make connections, that will help with that as well.

What’s the best part of trapping?

You get a feeling of success when you’ve found something in a trap. One week we got 5 or 6 rats. We haven’t caught as many as that since, but we are hearing and seeing lots more bird life, which is a good sign. It feels special to be part of [making predator free 2050 happen].

Why should others get involved?

It’s really fun and easy to do once you get the hang of it, and if you’ve been taught to do it properly and safely. If everyone knew how to use traps, they could be in every backyard, which would make a huge difference.

Just give it a go – it’s important.

to everyone who took part in pātai | challenges to celebrate Forest & Bird’s 100th birthday year!

Ella (8) has drawn a pūteketeke that needs the plants growing on lake margins for shelter and nesting.

Cooper some of the fish that live in wetlands.

Max (7) drew an estuary after visiting the Napier estuary recently with Hastings-Havelock North.

Snapshot

By Jesse (age 12) from Whangaparāoa College.

By Izzy (age 10).

© Wild Things Issue 163, May 2024.

Published by Forest & Bird.