Ōtara Waterways and Lake Trust gets funding boost from Auckland Airport

Pragna Patel (yellow vest), from the Otara Waterways and Lake Trust, clears weeds before spraying at the Ōtara Stream with a group of students. Photo / Greg Bowker

The Herald is profiling 12 charities awarded $12,000 each from Auckland Airport’s Twelve Days of Christmas campaign. Each grant is made up of $10,000 donated by generous travellers who placed unwanted currency into money boxes dotted around the airport’s terminals in 2023, and as a cherry on top, Auckland Airport has gifted each charity an additional $2000. This is the 12th and final instalment of the Twelve Days of Christmas campaign.

Many older people who grew up in Ōtara will have fond memories of swimming and fishing in the Ōtara Creek.

Sadly, that’s not possible today, with the creek being among the most polluted waterways within Auckland.

But the Ōtara Waterways and Lake Trust hopes that within a generation the waterway will be returned to a state where it will once again be safely used for swimming, food gathering, boating and other traditional and cultural uses.

For seven years, the trust has been leading the project to clean up the entire Otara Creek and waterways system.

The trust’s project manager, Katie Jones, says restoration is a big job.

The trust has received a grant from Auckland Airport as part of the 12 days of Christmas and is using the money to help young school age volunteers travel to help on the restoration project. Photo / Greg Bowker

“All up there’s 196km of stream within the catchment that’s very polluted due to massive land use change over decades and the huge volume of sediment and contaminants washed into it through subdivision, pollution from roads and removal of native vegetation.

“Restoration requires change from all parts of the community, including central and local government, how local businesses deal with their water and waste alongside the construction and roading industries and residents.”

Alongside its stream restoration efforts, the trust is working to create ways to involve more people from the local community to help with the creek’s restoration, and this is where its $12,000 grant from the Auckland Airport’s Twelve Days of Christmas campaign will help.

“We will use the grant to provide a series of six-week courses teaching skills specific to stream restoration with a certificate provided to them at the end,” Jones says.

“This programme provides a different opportunity for local people to learn specific skills that might ignite some interest that could, in turn, lead on to a career path in waterways restoration.

“The money is a great injection to kick start this initiative for us. It also expands the pool of people who are trained and could possibly work with us in the future.”

The Ōtara Waterways and Lake Trust is one of 12 charities being gifted $10,000 for work in South Auckland communities as part of Auckland Airport’s Twelve Days of Christmas campaign. This is funded by donations from generous travellers who have visited the airport this year and placed their unwanted foreign currency into moneyboxes dotted around the terminals. Auckland Airport has gifted an additional $2000 per grant.

Alongside its stream restoration efforts, the trust is working to create ways to involve more people from the local community to help with the creek’s restoration. Photo / Greg Bowker

Auckland Airport’s chief corporate services officer Melanie Dooney says the airport is delighted the $12,000 grant will help provide meaningful opportunities for locals to be involved in restoring the waterways.

“It’s creating a positive social impact by allowing people to develop new skills while supporting the Trust’s long-term goals of restoring pride and connection in the waterways,” Dooney says.

The Ōtara Waterways and Lake Trust was formed in 2016 from a steering group representing 30 community groups, council, local businesses that came together in response to the state of the waterways.