JANE LENTING

If there is an environmental initiative underway in southern Wairarapa chances are that the South Wairarapa Biodiversity Group (SWBG) is in some way or another connected.

For a voluntary organisation whose membership is relatively small, its tentacles reach far and wide. SBWG president Jane Lenting says it is probably a good sign that people seem to think that the group is bigger than it is.

“The problem that we face of course is we don’t always have the capacity to respond but we can use our networks and share our knowledge,” she says.

Established in 2011, SWBG is a rural community-led initiative and the brainchild of two Pirinoa Farmers, Vanessa Tipoki and Heather Atkinson.

SBWG has taken on various projects to increase the level of awareness in the community about positive environmental management and its benefits. An early project it adopted was planting at Lake Ferry beside Lake Ōnoke and well as at Ōkorewa Lagoon.  The Ōkorewa Lagoon project is ongoing.

“If we could get groups to take an interest in their own little patch of public land around the edge of Lake Ōnoke, that would be a really good outcome.”

Jane says there are “so many great sites” to do planting all round Wairarapa Moana. SWBG chose to focus on the Ōnoke/Ōkorewa Lagoon because it is a culmination of a whole lot of different values.

“It is an old pa site, so has the people history; there are rare birds seen on the lagoon; the water is very degraded, so planting can help with that.  You can drive to it, and as it is public land, people go there as tourists, to fish, and to walk along the beach.  It seemed a great spot to try and restore.”

It’s not surprising then that the lagoon is her favourite part of Wairarapa Moana.

“In bad light, when everything looks very muddy and you can see how degraded the water looks you think, oh god, what are we doing with this. Then other times when you photograph it, it just looks like the most gorgeous, gorgeous spot.”

The level of degradation is “disturbing”, a fact that Jane learnt first hand during a monitoring exercise at Ōkorewa Lagoon in 2013.

“In places it was too sticky underfoot to walk and I had to float and swim even though the water was shallow.  My gear ended up taking on board some of the muckiness and it took four lots of soaking, then washing, then drying my wetsuit before it was in a state where I was happy to use it again.”

“It is so sad to think that only 50 years earlier this was a popular swimming hole for the local community.”

SWBG is the founder of the very successful annual Farming for the Future seminar, and closer to home for Jane, is establishing “Predator-Free Martinborough”.

“By setting examples, the hope is that over time other people will buy into it. While we seek and value expertise, especially from people at the Department of Conservation in Masterton and Greater Wellington Regional Council, we also share information on our own projects and activities, and learn from each other.”

While improving environmental outcomes for Wairarapa Moana is the overriding goal, by default SWBG is also helping to strengthen local community as it connects people and brings them together for a common cause.

For more information contact: swbg@xtra.co.nz