Ko Tōku Waikanaetanga Tēnei: Edgewater Park Planting Day 2025

On a sunny Monday in Edgewater Park, under a Tangaroa moon phase, you could be forgiven for thinking there was a gala going on.  

Mana whenua, tamariki, community volunteers, Greater Wellington and Kāpiti Coast District Council staff were all gathered, the milo was being prepared, and the sausages were sizzling. Plants dotted along the riverbank, ready to be planted. 

A few months ago, some poplar trees along the bank of the Waikanae Awa had to be removed. They were dropping branches into the popular Edgewater Park, making them a hazard.  

Ātiawa ki Whakarongotai, Friends of Waikanae River, Parikawau Restoration Group, the Greater Wellington River Rangers, and the wider community all wanted them replaced with natives. On a fine kōanga (spring) day, iwi, volunteers, Greater Wellington, Kāpiti  Coast District Council, and local tamariki all came together to get an ambitious 2,250 natives planted in the bank. 

Mohi Edwin (Ātiawa ki Whakarongotai) told the tamariki and volunteers gathered about how lucky they were to be in this special place where he had grown up, next to “the best river in the world”. He hopes to foster that same special feeling for the tamariki. Not just for the tamariki in front of him, but for his mokopuna too. He wants them to be able to see the positive change, to “sit under the shade of the trees that we created and see and name all the birds”. 

After the opening kōrero, the Waikanae School and Kapakapanui School tamariki partnered up in tuakana teina style and diligently set off and planted as many plants as they could, before coming in for a sausage sizzle to refuel after their hard mahi. Some tamariki even took it upon themselves to get to weeding the area too. Volunteers from as far away as Paekākāriki had answered the call for help and kept up the momentum until all the plants made it into the ground. 

Mohi and Friends of the Waikanae River both spoke of the amazing progress that has already happened over the last 20 years. 30 years ago, the whole area had mostly been gorse, blackberry, and concrete. Thanks to the hard mahi of community and iwi over that time, and more recently the joint efforts of the Waikanae Ki Uta Ki Tai partnership, there is barely a weed to be seen and native plants everywhere. 

The event was a successful and meaningful occasion. Everyone enjoyed the chance to connect with the whenua, the awa, and meet some different people of all ages. 

This event was supported by a trial phase of Te Wā o Te Taiao, meaning “a season for focusing on the natural world”. 

• If you would like to join Parikawau Restoration Group, contact mckenzieheatherm@gmail.com  
• If you would like to join Friends of the Waikanae River contact friendsofwaikanaeriver@gmail.com  
• If you would like to join Te Ati Awa volunteering in their Native Plant Nursery please visit the Volunteer Kāpiti website

Anyone is welcome to get involved—no experience needed, just a willingness to support the kaupapa.