Project Description:

UPDATE: SPEIGHT’S WILL DOUBLE YOUR DONATION FOR TARAMAIRE STREAM

The legends at Speight’s are helping us look after what matters – New Zealand’s precious waterways! Speight’s are helping three massive efforts to restore our waterways this year: Taramaire Stream, Otawera Stream and Cardrona River.  Every donation to Taramaire Stream will now be matched by Speight’s up to $10,000. Make your donation today!

ABOUT US

Hi, I’m Juliet Levers. Our project is simple! Plant 2.4km of Taramaire stream on our farm in the Miranda District to increase and sustain the water quality and fish life. That’s a whopping 4,800 metres of planting when you include both sides!

Stock have been restricted access and now we need to plant along these streams to stop the weeds growing and reduce the risk of losing critical habitat. We have seen considerable increase in wildlife in the creeks since we fenced the area two years ago and want to continue the progress we have already made.

Without the shading provided by taller plants and trees, high stream temps have led to elevated levels of algae. Active in the creeks are koura, eel, several species of fish with lots of other freshwater life and we need to improve their environment.

OUR PROJECT

We want to plant 6,600 plants along Taramaire stream! The plants are from Te Whangai Trust’s Miranda native plant nursery and are ecosourced to the area. When they grow in the trees will shade the stream and create great habitat for fish and birds.

The budget for this project includes the cost of the plants, fertiliser, some post-care and Million Metres admin fee. We aim to plant as much as possible with volunteers so let us know if you’d like to help! To keep costs down we’re doing the site-prep ourselves and most of the post-care.

The Hauraki Gulf

Planting the banks will also have a positive impact on downward properties in the Miranda/Pukorokoro catchment and into the wider Hauraki Gulf as this stream flows directly into the ocean. We want to protect and ensure the water quality improves with aspirations of our son and future generations enjoying the water and environment around us.

We are a keen fishing family and would love this project to contribute to the long-term sustainability of the Hauraki Gulf.

More about us

Gareth is a born and bred local man having returned to the district after completing a degree in Business and Sustainability from Lincoln University. He spent time working in USA and then was drawn back to farming in NZ a few years later. I was brought up down the road on a farm near Huntly and ventured down to Lincoln as well to complete a Business and Management degree. Our love of fishing and the outdoors brought us together and we now have a son, Jack, who (has no choice at this stage!!) but joins in on all our activities and jobs on the farm. We love the variation and lifestyle farming offers and by doing projects like this, we can also help make a positive contribution to the environment.

SPEIGHT’S PARTNERSHIP WITH MILLION METRES

Speight’s partnership with Million Metres brings to life their commitment to taking care of what matters. Over the last 10 years, Speight’s has supported environmental projects in the Otago region via the Speight’s Fund. In 2019, Speight’s and Million Metres partnered to transform this programme to deliver support to waterway restoration projects in Otago, and nationally. Speight’s supported a huge planting effort in 2019, and 2020 is shaping up to be another massive year! Million Metres and Speight’s will continue to develop this partnership overtime to grow its impact. Keep up to date on how things are progressing here.