Piako River Green Corridor
Reconnecting two internationally significant wetlands along the Piako River
Client:
Waikato Regional Council (funded by Jobs for Nature)
Location:
Hauraki Plains, Waikato
Services:
Native Plant Nursery / Operations & Implementation / Ecosourcing
Project Overview
The Piako River Green Corridor is a Waikato Regional Council restoration project to reconnect Kōpūatai Wetland with the Firth of Thames. Both are Ramsar sites of international ecological significance.
As main contractor, Scrub established a 10–15 m wide native riparian corridor along the river, replacing dense stands of reed sweet-grass (Glyceria maxima) with native vegetation that creates spawning habitat for native fish.
Project Scale
137,000
NATIVE PLANTS SUPPLIED AND PLANTED
2
RAMSAR WETLANDS RECONNECTED
17 km
OF RIVER CORRIDOR PLANTED
Our role
Scrub delivered the project from seed collection to established planting, within an active flood protection scheme.
· Ecosourced seed collection, including DOC-consented collection from the peat dome
· Plant production and acclimatisation at a dedicated Matamata satellite nursery
· Site preparation and reed sweet-grass control
· Planting to approved engineering layouts and species mixes
· Ongoing maintenance and plant supply for mana whenua planting events
Ecosourcing on the Hauraki Plains
Ecosourcing was one of the project’s central challenges. Very little native vegetation remains on the Hauraki Plains, so suitable seed sources had to be found.
With DOC consent, Scrub collected seed from the Kōpūatai peat dome populations, and built relationships with local landowners who still hold remnant fragments on their land. Planting began with sedges, the quickest species to produce, while longer-lead species such as kahikatea were grown for later infill planting.
To help plants cope with the plains’ conditions, we set up a dedicated satellite nursery in Matamata to acclimatise stock before planting.
Working within the stop banks
Every planting had to follow pre-approved engineering patterns and species mixes within the Hauraki Plains flood mitigation scheme. A dedicated satellite nursery helped acclimatise plants to local conditions before they were planted.
