Planting boosts habitat at Twaddle’s Swamp

The Upper Waitaki Water Zone Committee has supported a stream enhancement project that will protect the threatened native fish bignose galaxias.

A natural spring-fed stream system running through a farm near Omarama has received some extra help to improve water quality.

‘Twaddle’s Swamp’, on land owned by Wendy and Richard Parsons, has undergone stream enhancement and the planting of 500 new native plants to help its VIP residents – the threatened native fish bignose galaxias.

Previous stream enhancement work and fencing had already been carried out on the property but the Parson’s noticed that the streams were still not draining well and clogging with weeds and plants.

After the landowner raised the problem with the Upper Waitaki Water Zone Committee, a field trip was organized to understand the issues and a plan agreed to help the stream flow better.

Now, with the stream cleared and natives planted to provide shade and reduce weeds, it’s hoped the stream will continue to improve in water quality, without the help of human – and digger - intervention.

If you have a local project that could benefit from support visit the southern zone funding page to find out where and how you can apply.