Schools help restore stream as part of Greentown month

Five years on and native tree planting along the Papawai Stream, east of Greytown, is becoming a small forest thanks to the help of schoolchildren.
The involvement of Kuranui College and Greytown Primary School has been a big part of the Project Papawai Stream Restoration group's success, chairman of the group Peter Rewi said yesterday.
"Its great to see not only the children but also the parents from the schools get behind this community project," he said.
Mr Rewi was present as 10 Kuranui horticultural trainees and 40 Greytown schoolchildren planted 300 young trees along the riverbank yesterday morning.
Around 200 of the new plantings came from seedlings raised by the Greytown School pupils in the past year.
Their long-term involvement has generated a real understanding of the environmental issues, Warren Field, a former teacher at the school and now co-ordinator for the Greater Wellington Environmental Education Programme, said.
For two of the children Tamyka Hayes, 11, and Stephanie Gobey, 12 this is their second year mucking in.
"We love learning about the planting, Tamyka said, "and helping the environment at the same time."
The Taratahi Agricultural Training Centre has also supported the project funded by the Papawai Marae and the Greater Wellington Environment Action Programme with fencing along the stream's boundaries.
From the original hui five years ago at Papawai Marae the project is now close to restoring the stream to its former glory.
The next major job will be to remove the willows that have blocked the path of the stream, Mr Rewi said, and then nature will be left to take its natural course.