Once a rich source of freshwater kai and a favourite swimming spot for local people, Pūniu river is now heavily polluted. Water is not safe to swim in, river banks are eroding and the tuna population has plummeted. Local marae, landowners and the Waikato Regional Council are working together to clean up this awa, restore tuna habitat and improve biodiversity.
The kaupapa is first and foremost about restoring our awa. Pūniu River Care is the waka that enables mana whenua, tangata whenua to be involved in that process through meaningful employment.
We're just waiting at the trailer for, for an order down in Te Kuiti. These are our whanake.
What makes us different from a commercial business is that we're tikanga driven.
Everything we do has a wairua component. So it's more than just about growing and planting trees, although we do that very, very well, it's about how we do our mahi and ensuring we live our mahi as well.
Ngā Kaitiaki o Te Awa o Pūniu project is a 5 year project, and we are currently in year three. Our aim and goal is to plant 40,000-50,000 trees per year.
Currently the total trees planted is 137,000.
We're planting a bit of Manuka, Whanake, Karamu, and Harakeke, and a couple of different grass species.
Through the relationship we've created with the Waikato Regional Council and landowners, it's meant that we've been able to plant 23 properties.
All in all they've been pretty forthcoming with letting us plant along their properties.
It's meant that we're one step closer to reaching our total goal of fencing 32-kilometres along the Pūniu River.
We are very passionate about what we do and that drives us, there's a big meaning behind the kaupapa.
We have uncle in the kauta, who, they go out and collect our seed.
And then that kākano is brought back here to Mangatoatoa, where we nurture it and raise it before it will go out onto its own to become a rangatira and then start that process again.
The Ministry for the Environment's Freshwater Improvement Fund, they've supported us by providing us $740,000 over a 5 year period.
That went towards expanding our nursery.
There's 30 people employed here, we've got so many more trees out on the awa.
I think the overall purpose of the project is to enable Kaitiakitanga to occur here.
So the bigger picture here is for the whanau to feel proud in what we're achieving along our awa and to feel part of it.
The Pūniu river flows past four marae (Mangatoatoa, Rāwhitiroa, Aotearoa, and Whakamārama) and holds cultural significance to iwi and hapu. As recently as 20 years ago, it was also a well-loved swimming and fishing spot for the local community.
Today, more than 10,000 tonnes of sediment discharge from the Pūniu river into the Waipā river yearly. Riverbanks are eroding and the tuna population is decreasing at an alarming rate.
Pūniu River Care is an environmental restoration group which works closely with the local marae, hapu, and iwi to improve the health of this awa.
In 2018, the group started a five-year project to clean up the river and plant 32 kilometres of native trees along the banks. Now in its third year, the team has planted 137,000 eco-sourced trees so far including manuka, whanake, karamu, and harakeke.
As well as cleaning up the waterways the project has created new jobs, employing 30 people from the town Te Awamutu. The team is also working with the local marae to develop a marae-based river restoration guide for other community groups to use.
We are proud to support this kaupapa through the Freshwater Improvement Fund.
Learn more about the Freshwater Improvement Fund.
Learn more about Pūniu River Care.
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