November 06, 2018
Kahikatea swamp for Te Waihora
The co-governors of Te Waihora / Lake Ellesmere are welcoming a programme to plant 68,000 native trees around the shoreline.
Conservation Minster Eugenie Sage says the project will create 34 hectares of new kahikatea swamp forest as part of the Government’s One Billion Trees programme.
Lake co-chairs Steve Lowndes from Environment Canterbury and Lisa Tumahai from Ngāi Tahu, say restoration of the forest that used to exist around the lake will offer great conservation and cultural value.
It will create habitat for native birds and fish, and improve the health of the wetland ecosystem by helping to prevent nutrients flowing into the lake.
Ms Tumahai says it will enhance the work iwi and many others are doing to protect and restore the cultural and ecological values of the lake and its margins.
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