Te Kohuroa Rewilding
Images www.Benthics.com
Words Frances Dickinson
Locally-led marine conservation project, Te Kohuroa Rewilding Initiative (TKRI), creates hands-on restoration activities to support the regeneration of the coastline at Matheson Bay, Leigh.
This summer TKRI is on a mission to bring the wider community together to care for their own ‘blue backyard’ and inspire a new wave of coastal guardians. Te Kohuroa/Matheson Bay is a popular destination and recreation space for local ocean swimmers, spearfishers and visitors who come to enjoy the calm, sheltered waters and rocky reefs.
Below the waves however, the intricate marine life and kelp forests are struggling to thrive. After years of human impacts such as overfishing, run-off and sedimentation, plus the increasing pressures from rising sea temperatures, the marine ecosystem is at a tipping point. In 2023, local freediver and underwater science communicator, Frances Dickinson decided to do something about it.
“After spending a year filming and photographing the underwater ecosystems in the bay, I was becoming increasingly frustrated by what I was witnessing. It was clear to me that the animals and habitats I cherished were not thriving,” explains Frances. “So I started researching the possibility of a restoration project to see what we could do as a community to change that.”
TKRI is now working with iwi, organisations and local community groups to deliver a ground-up approach to healing Te Kohuroa’s marine ecosystem through a long-term restoration program. The project design has been brought together through the contributions of a wide variety of stakeholders including leading science from the University of Auckland’s Reef Ecology Team, freshwater catchment management from the Mountains to Sea Trust and local conservation umbrella Restore Rodney East.
The goal of the project is to give Te Kohuroa/ Matheson Bay a helping hand through well thought out restoration activities, and a voice by telling the story of the bay, its people and the ecosystem itself, raising the well-being of the bay. This is being delivered through a mix of environmental monitoring, storytelling and volunteering activities which aim to make it easy and fun for everyone to participate in local conservation action.
This year the Pilot Program, running September 2024 to June 2025, is focusing on gathering critical information about the biodiversity within the bay, including the kauri forest, wetlands and awa/river, plus kelp forest restoration on the outer reef. There is an extensive program of summer events for individuals and families to come and learn about the importance of the marine ecosystem, and get hands-on experience on the land and in the ocean to support the restoration of the bay.
Learn more and find out how you can get involved and contribute to this project.
www.TeKohuroaRewilding.org | www.facebook.com/TeKohuroaRewilding