Estuary

Otahuhu Intermediate School sits along the boundaries of the Tamaki Estuary, which runs past or school. Due to overgrowth and pollution, we are very aware that something needs to be done to ensure it stays clean and clear of rubbish.

Our main goals are to:

  1. Clean all rubbish around the school boundary by the Estuary.
  2. Remove any dead plants.
  3. Retain falling soil and slipping trees.
  4. Replant important native fauna.

As the clean ups have been happening, students have realised that it’s more than just removing the rubbish; it’s also about restoring and protecting the school environment, which can be difficult to do when we’re not here all the time to oversee it. This has helped us to see that we need to work on educating our community more, so that those who share our space when we’re away treat it with the same respect and passion for sustainability, that we do.

Our next step from there will be to work alongside Auckland Council Engineers and its Bio-Diversity team to bring back our native plants. However, we need to restore before we regenerate, otherwise the banks will simply collapse away.

Cleaning the Estuary Pictures.

Native tree planting pictures.