Participants enjoy a paddle on the Pahurehure Inlet
On World Fish Migration Day we returned to the stunning Manukau Harbour, this time exploring the Pāhurehure Inlet from Bottletop Bay! 46 participants ventured out on the water with Auckland Sea Kayaks, and learned about their local environment with a freshwater workshop from Wai Connection and a pest free workshop with the Beautification Trust! A massive thank you to these organisations for partnering on this event, and to the Papakura Local Board, Wai Connection, Tu Manawa Active Aotearoa, and the Bobby Stafford Bush Foundation for their generous funding that made this day possible.
Participants rafted up, showing their excitement in exploring the Pahurehure Inlet
Whilst out on the water participants learnt about more about the ecology of the Pahurehure inlet and some of the challenges it faces. In particular participants learn about our awesome native fish, like whitebait and tuna/eels that migrate between the freshwater and marine habitats in order to complete their lifecycle, in some cases traversing many kilo meters to breed in the pacific and then making the challenging journey back to Aotearoa. In addition fish migration chats and bird spotting participants also got to hone their kayaking skills and confidence with the help of Auckland Sea Kayaks. For many this was their first time on a kayak, experience their local area from a different perspective.
Participants learn about freshwater monitoring and get hands on with freshwater macroinvertebrates with Wai Connection.
Whilst not on the water participants were treated to informative freshwater monitoring and pest trapping workshops thanks to Wai Connection and the Beautification Trust. These budding environmentalists gained key skills to help them better understand and protect their local waterways and reserves, which in turn will help the local biodiversity flourish and thrive.
Participants learn about trap safety during the pest-free workshop with the Beautification Trust
More photos from the event can be found in the photo album linked below.
If you are keen to join us on future events we will have several over winter so make sure to follow us and check out our event page on Eventbrite to register.
If you would like to support our organisation and help us reach more people with our marine and freshwater engagement initiates, you can donate or sign up as a volunteer below.
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