WETLAND EXTREME TEAM

WETLAND EXTREME TEAM
The Wetland Extreme Team are eighteen Year 7 and 8 students from St Joseph's Waitara School in Taranaki, New Zealand. Our names are James, Tayla, Steven, Louise ,Madison, Isaac, Francis, Gabriel, Rose, P.J, Terina, Jamie, Iyarna, Che-Leigh, Cody, Matthew, Connor and Hayden. We will be blogging about the history, current research and future ideas for the schools wetland. All of which is hoped will make the wetland more interactive and fun for everyone to enjoy.

Working to help W.E.T achieve the mission is 60 Springs Environmental Educator Nathan Hills. 60 Springs is based at Puke Ariki and run in partnership with Shell Exploration New Zealand Limited and the Taranaki Regional Council.

Saturday, May 14, 2011

Wetland draining

The total of all wetlands in New Zealand is shrinking. In the Taranaki region less than 8% of wetlands are left.

The Taranaki Regional Council surveyed wetlands in 1996 by looking at aerial maps. They counted 717 wetlands. They did the same in 2008 and the total was 654. It had decreased by 63. One of the reasons they have disappeared is because farmers are draining their wetlands to improve grass growth.

Land before (find the RED dot)
Land after (RED dot and no more wetland)

Wetlands have good purposes. They are like a sponge and suck up the water when there is a flood and its a great habitat for native plants and animals. We need to protect our wetlands because they are very important to us and the animals that live in them. They are also a major part of our environment.

Photos: Taranaki Regional Council
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