Source: Environment Canterbury Regional Council
Planting a sustainable future
Building on the work of the students before them, Grantlea Downs’ current year 4-6 students now want to tackle some of the other issues affecting the mauri of the stream, such as contaminants and sediment.
That’s why last week, with the support of their teachers and parents, they helped the Ōrāri Temuka Ōpihi Pareora Water Zone Committee (OTOP), Environment Canterbury and Timaru District Council put 1000 native plants in the ground.
These plants will help to form a wetland that will capture and filter contaminants and sediment before they enter the stream and the coastal environment. This will benefit the whole ecosystem, attracting healthy insect life and providing food and a healthy habitat for inanga/whitebait.
Grantlea Downs students knew the mauri of the stream was degraded because past students had conducted an insect survey comparing it to the nearby Taumatakahu/Temuka Stream. They found almost no insects in their stream inspection compared to reasonably diverse insect life in Taumatakahu.
