INTERCOAST Coast Care Event

On June 25th 2011 Prof Chris Battershill and eight Intercoast students from both Waikato and Bremen Universities came out to the Western Bay of Plenty to join a community planting day in Otāmarākau. Together with local volunteers and supported by a group of Periodic Detention (PD) workers, more than 3500 native plants were put into the beautiful stretch of coastal dunes overlooked by Otāmarākau marae. The two main species used were Spinifex and Pingao. The latter, a beautiful yellow sedge is endemic to Aoatearoa New Zealand and has traditionally been used in tuku tuku panel weaving. Both plants are known for their sand-binding qualities, allowing dunes to recover after events of storm erosion and thereby enhancing their natural buffer function.

Everyone enjoyed the opportunity to get a fresh coastal breeze on this bright and sunny New Zealand winter day. The event was part of the successful Coast Care programme, an initiative by the Bay of Plenty Regional Council, supported by District and City Councils throughout the Region and the Department of Conservation (DOC). Under the Coast Care umbrella, local and international volunteers, schools and corporate groups put many hours of voluntary work into restoring and maintaining native vegetation on New Zealand’s dunes and sandy beaches. Dune ecosystems are amongst the most heavily modified in Aotearoa, having suffered from grazing, vehicles and development impacts, including bulldozing for views in coastal subdivisions. Invasive weeds like Kikuyu grass or Agapanthus have spread from gardens or been deliberately planted close to the dunes and now compete against native foredune and backdune species.

After digging up more than 3000 holes, fertilizing and planting, everybody was happy to sit down at Otāmarākau marae for a shared lunch and a chat before heading back to Mount Maunganui to have a look at the facilities for Waikato University’s future Marine Research Centre. The fieldtrip was organized by Prof. Chris Battershill and Friederike Gesing (IC 13), who is analyzing the work of Coast Care BOP as part of her PhD thesis on soft approaches to coastal erosion management.