Wild about Waihi

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WaW: Wild about Waihi
(formerly HELP: the Habitat Enhancement & Landcare Partnership)

What is Wild about Waihi?
Wild about Waihi was previously known as HELP – the Habitat Enhancement and Landcare Partnership. It is a project initiated by Waihi Gold in 1994 to promote and support local sustainable land use practices. A key feature of the project is its structure. WaW promotes an active partnership between industry, education and community groups.

How does WaW work?
Primary and secondary students and community volunteers identify local areas requiring habitat enhancement and landcare inputs. All projects have a strong action focus and participants are provided with the skills and knowledge that allow them to participate meaningfully in all components of ecological restoration activities, from planning and plant propagation to planting and ongoing monitoring of selected sites.

Who needs WaW?
Every land use produces an impact on the environment. Many impacts may not be immediately obvious or may be minor. Accumulated, these impacts can have a larger effect on the environment. Tackling these issues through a collaborative and positive process is one of the key successes of the WaW initiative – and the main reason for its success and persistence.
The resources provided by the company combined with enthusiastic support of all local schools and many community volunteers has resulted in an outstandingly successful partnership, achieving outcomes that have attracted numerous awards and support from a growing number of regional and national partner organisations.


Waihi East School students monitor water quality and stream life at Waitete Stream.	Waihi Central School students planting beside Waitete Stream. Larger native trees in the background were planted in 2007.

Waikino School students monitoring at Waitete Stream, the location of our full catchment restoration project.	A small forest of trees was planted by four classes from Waihi East School at Waitete Stream.

Aim
To develop and implement a programme that establishes a long term positive and productive partnership between business, education and community groups, working together to improve the local environment.

Objectives

Promote interaction between a wide range of groups from business, education, the community and public bodies, linking them to a common goal: enhancement of the local environment.
Involve students in the evaluation of their local environment and in the planning of developments that will result in the beautification, land stabilisation and increased diversity of natural communities within the Waihi Basin.
Provide students with the knowledge, skills and attitudes which will promote long-term guardianship of the environment.
Provide eco-sourced plant material required for amenity and habitat restoration projects in and around Waihi.
Components of the Project:
Interactions between the project coordinator and school groups to develop knowledge, skills and attitude!
Integrating learning in the classroom and action in the field is developed through field trips to a variety of forest remnants and streams. Students and volunteers grasp of forest and stream ecology is greatly enhanced by learning in the environment.
Propagating plant material for assorted restoration projects is an ongoing process, with students preparing plants a year ahead – and planting those produced by students a year earlier. This ‘legacy’ approach reflects the company’s long-term environmental objective.
Stream monitoring and wildlife surveys are conducted regularly in project sites to keep track of changes resulting from project activities.
Number of Participants

The project currently involves over 450 students, teachers and many volunteers from the community. The Hauraki District Council, Waikato Regional Council and various conservation groups have also been involved in the planning and planting stages of projects.

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