Project Description:

YOUR DONATION WILL BE MATCHED BY SEVENTH GENERATION!

This year, Seventh Generation has joined forces with Million Metres and Waiheke Resources Trust to help restore the Rangihoua wetland on Waiheke Island.

Better yet, the team at Seventh Generation have pledged to match fund all donations up to a total of $25,000!

That means, every dollar you donate will result in two dollars for the wetland.

OUR PROJECT

Seventh Generation, Million Metres and Waiheke Resources Trust have teamed up to fundraise for the next stage of the Rangihoua restoration project.

The funding will enable 758 metres of the wetland to be restored with 2,700 native plants and trees. Planting will occur in the winter of 2019.

The plantings will create a buffer between the waterway and the land. They will help to filter contaminants and reduce erosion that can be harmful to fish. They will provide habitat for the rare moho-pererū (Banded Rail) and other birds.

Waiheke Resources Trust has worked with the experts to develop a diverse planting plan and budget for the work.

Our goal is to raise $50,000. This goal includes funds for the plants, preparing the site for planting, volunteer coordination, and maintenance of the planting to ensure the trees thrive.

THE IMPORTANCE OF WETLANDS

Over the years they’ve been dumped in, drained and filled to make way for development and agriculture. Today, only 10% of New Zealand’s historic wetlands remain.

Healthy wetlands are nature’s sponges. They soak up water during floods and release it during droughts. They trap carbon, keeping it out of the atmosphere. They improve water quality by removing contaminants from fresh water on its journey to the ocean. They support a huge diversity of birds, insects and fish.

ABOUT RANGIHOUA WETLAND

Rangihoua wetland is home to many rare bird, fish and plant species. It is also the historic landing place of the Te Arawa waka. The waka crew used raupo growing in the wetland to re-lash their waka before continuing on to the Coromandel. This gave the area its name – Rangihoua or The Day of Renewal.

Our vision is to restore a wetland oasis of manuka, kanuka, totara, puriri, kowhai and harakeke to Rangihoua Wetland.

MORE ON THE PROJECT

For the last four years, Waiheke Resources Trust has managed Love Our Wetlands Waiheke, a locally led initiative to restore and protect four significant wetland habitats and surrounding environments on Waiheke Island: Rangihoua, Te Matuku, Te Whau & Matiatia Headland.

The project uses a volunteer workforce consisting of local schools, community and corporate groups, and individuals at community planting days. These groups have been working to plant and remove invasive weeds from the wetlands. The support of these groups have a huge part in the success of the project.

Since the project began in 2015, over 10,000 eco-sourced native plants have been planted with the help of more than 1000 volunteers and over 5,000 hours of volunteer effort!

Love Our Wetlands Waiheke is not just about ecological restoration. The project is also training volunteers to be skilled in restoration and creating jobs on the island. The social impact of this work is as tangible as the wetland restoration. Jobs created through this funding have such a positive impact on our whanau, our community and the land.

We’re stoked to be able to continue to grow and expand our work in Rangihoua wetland with your help!!

ABOUT WAIHEKE RESOURCES TRUST

The Waiheke Resources Trust is all about creating a great place to live. We do lots of different things to reach that goal including education and events and there are lots of different issues that we think are important: water, waste, food resilience, biodiversity, energy and transport.

The concept that underpins our work is the importance of a healthy and thriving environment. Such an environment allows a community to flourish, and within that community a strong economy can exist.

We work to celebrate and protect all the resources we have already and build capacity and knowledge in the community toward the creation of a resource-full future for all.

ABOUT SEVENTH GENERATION

Seventh Generation products are made with the health of the environment and people in mind. All our products in NZ are between 91-97% plant-based, contain no dyes or synthetic fragrances, and are housed in bottles made from 100% post-consumer recycled materials. We also believe in transparency, which is why we display all our ingredients and their function on the pack.