Groundbreaking restoration project underway
The first stage in the groundbreaking transformation of Greytown School’s North Creek gets underway today - and the great thing about it is that it's all thanks to Greytown School students, past and present.
Today contractors Pope and Gray Ltd will begin digging up the concrete around the creek's edges. Once the new layout is in place, native planting days will be held and finally the fencing will take place.
The freshly excavated, newly aligned North Creek
The North Creek project was originally started up in 2008 by a group of ex-pupils. Further interest was created when the students took part in ‘Take Action for Water,’ a unit of work sponsored by Greater Wellington in 2009.
"Sediment was the main problem in our North Creek," year 7 student Rosie Isaacs says, "so the children decided to take action to see If they could improve it by converting It into a sustainable learning environment."
The main idea is to reconstruct the rubbish-clogged creek into a meandering stream bordered by about 500 New Zealand native shrubs and trees. It also will include a wide variety of wildlife, such as a lizards,fish, birds and insects. There will also be a silt trap to stop sediment getting into our creek.
"Throughout the process, the children have been calling the shots," fellow year 7 student Bethany Patten adds. "We've talked to the South Wairarapa District Council, designed the new creek layout, estimated cost, gathered quotes and talked to a lot of people. Students have gained a lot of knowledge through the process."
Plant swappers - on left Cole Freeman and Kimberley Allen from Greytown school, while at right are Annika Green, Sophie Leske and Justin Hurley from Wainuioru
Funding for the North Creek Project has been kindly provided by Meridian Energy, Greytown School’s Board of Trustees and local residents plus we are still seeking more grants. Our Budget for this project is $10,000 and Meridian Energy gave us $4,000 to start us off.
Wainuioru School has also been helping, and last week students from Greytown School swapped forest plants they raised with streamside plants raised by pupils at Wainuioru. "It's great to be able to swap plants with them and get the ones we need," year 8 student Kimberley Allen says.
"Overall, the project is going really well," says year 7 student Olivia Sinnema. When we are finished with the new development there will be a grand opening for all family, friends, ex - pupils, the people who helped with this project and anyone else who wishes to attend."