September 7 2010
Ambitious plans to showcase New Zealand’s unique wetlands are gaining regional momentum.
Tomorrow night (Wednesday, September 8) Waipa District Council will pledge its formal support for a proposal to construct a national wetlands centre on reserve land at Lake Serpentine, south of Hamilton.
The council, which jointly owns and manages the land with the Department of Conservation, will sign a memorandum of understanding with the National Wetlands Trust. No funds will be committed by the council but it will agree to actively encourage the construction of a national centre by working closely with the Trust and continuing maintenance of the site and its assets.
Other organisations including Environment Waikato, WEL Energy Trust, Transpower, Trust Waikato and the Waikato Catchment Ecological Enhancement Trust have already committed funds to the project.
While plans for buildings were still on the drawing board, National Wetland Trust executive office Karen Denyer said facilities were likely to include different wetland gardens and heritage trails, interactive exhibits, a predator proof fence to restore biodiversity and a visitor’s centre building.
“It is early days but the vision we have is very clear,” she said.
“We want to increase public knowledge and appreciation of wetlands, help people understand how they work and why they are important and encourage landowners and government agencies to protect, enhance and restore them.”
Waipa District Council chief executive Garry Dyet said it was a “tragedy” that only 10 per cent of New Zealand’s wetlands remain given their vital role as “earth’s kidneys”.
He was excited about the potential of the project, not just because of its conservation values, but because it was likely to become another eco-tourism drawcard for the Waipa district.
“Since the 1970s, this Council has done a heck of a lot to help preserve the unique qualities of Waipa’s peat lakes and wetlands and to protect the birdlife and flora and fauna they support,” Mr Dyet said.
“Already Waipa boasts Maungatautari (Ecological Island Reserve), Lake Karapiro and Mount Pirongia. We’re also building a cycleway in Cambridge, the first stage of a ride which may eventually go from Ngaruawahia to Horahora. Put together, Waipa is a bit of a ‘must-see’ for visitors interested in the environment and the outdoors.”
Ms Denyer said the centre would be aimed at local, domestic and international visitors with a strong offering to school groups. It would also incorporate Maori cultural elements. A business plan has been done with the objective of attracting 18,000 visitors in its first year of operation.
The timing of when the centre might open was wholly dependent on funding, she said.
“We’ve had some great support so far, but there’s a way to go yet. We may progress the centre in a staged way and in the meantime we will, alongside council, continue to develop the site,” she said.
“But the vision is out there and we’ve got some strong partners so things are all heading in the right direction.”
THE NATIONAL WETLANDS TRUST WILL HOLD ITS ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING, AND LAUNCH THE PROPOSAL FOR A NATIONAL WETLANDS CENTRE, AT 5PM ON WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 8 IN THE WAIPA DISTRICT COUNCIL OFFICES IN TE AWAMUTU.
For more information, please contact:
Jeanette Tyrrell
Ph: 07 872 0097 or 027 293 8679
Email: jeanette.tyrrell@waipadc.govt.nz
Or Karen Denyer
National Wetland Trust
021 031 2716