Examples of natives on Bassett Road, Rosewill planted by one man over 10 years to rejuvenate a wee corner by a stream and to bring back the birds. - Photography By Roselyn Fauth 2025
How many natives can you name? I'll be honest, we were out shopping for drawers... and I couldn't face the traffic, so we drove back to Timaru through Rosewill for something to do on a bleak, drizzly day... and this is how we ended up on a spontaneous Sunday drive to Bassetts road... even in grey weather, it is so beautiful out that way. It was a fun side quest.
Here is my latest blog for your holiday reading... by me, Roselyn Fauth... about a little wedge of natives that were planted by one man over 10 years to rejuvenate a wee corner by a stream and to bring back the birds. - the public can have a look through too... (p.s. if you have created riparian planting, I'd love to see some snaps). It was one of those proper grey days you would expect in London, but it was South Canterbury... in the summer, where at Christmas I would prefer to be in the sun.
The low cloud and occasional showers were providing the sort of bleak weather that usually keeps you indoors, but I was keen to get out and find some fresh air... We completed another side quest at Sir Basil Arthur Park to snap some scenes and plaque photos for another blog... so we decided to avoid the fiasco of the road works on the highway and turn towards Pleasant Point and follow the rolling ridges back into town.
It's been a while since I have been in this area, so it was quite an interesting wee drive. We pulled over to check out a sign and, like our random adventures, decided to have a look at a wee section of planting that the public can also enjoy. With a break in the weather, we opened the gate and strolled the short loop through the growing natives.
The sign we had pulled over to see was part of the 'Our Waitarakao' project, which my husband is quite involved with. He showed me a number of areas up the catchment that have been identified to create riparian planting to improve water quality, and a few spots like this one that have been established before the project got underway...
The Waitarakao Washdyke catchment sits just north of Timaru, with the lagoon at its heart connecting the streams to the sea. It’s a shallow, brackish coastal lagoon shaped by a much larger inland system of streams, drains, wetlands, farms, homes, and industry.
Standing at this little creek by Bassett Road, I was reminded how connected the area is. What happens upstream doesn’t stay there. It moves. Sediment, nutrients, floodwater... eventually, it all ends up at the lagoon, and then out to sea. The fine sediment is a pain, and sometimes a death sentence for plants and creatures, and riparian planting has been identified as a quick win with long-term impact to improve the water quality for the catchment and lagoon.
Waitarakao is a special place for mana whenua, locals, and visitors. We love taking our time investigating the reef at low tide, or sitting watching the birds. It sits close to traditional and more recent pā sites of Kāti Huirapa and carries deep cultural, ecological, and historical significance. For generations, it has been a place of mahika kai, of food gathering and shared knowledge. Today, it remains one of the very few coastal environments of its kind left in the region, which most people can glimpse through a car window from the Hilton Highway. but you can turn off on Bridge St and explore it yourself. Sadly it's nothing of its former glory, and only 10% of the lagoon that you would have seen mid 1800s remains.
The Our Waitarakao project is a partnership between Te Rūnanga o Arowhenua, Timaru District Council, Environment Canterbury and the Department of Conservation, working alongside landowners, businesses and the wider community. Together, they’ve made a plan to restore the health and mauri, the life force, of the lagoon and the wider catchment that feeds it. It was really special to be at their public event where the partnership was confirmed and agreed and committed to with official signatures on a dotted line.
I have been on the sidelines for a few years watching the project gain momentum. Reading about the project and then standing in it, reminded me of what many have achieved in around 18 or so months to develop, shaped through listening and planning. The project champions have run drop-in sessions, workshops, surveys, and held many conversations. People who know this place in very different ways brought their ideas, stories and concerns. Cultural, ecological, recreational, practical. Process doesn’t always show on the ground straight away, and its been impressive to witness the community to come together, identify the need and agree on solutions and a plan.
I remember a phrase our CPlay project manager Graham Ward had while building the Caroline Bay playground, he used to say... Rose, I'm not interested in the problems, bring me the solutions. Probably like you, we read lots of people whingeing and moaning, for example Waiariki MP Tāmati Coffey wrote a really nasty Facebook post yesterday shaming dairy farmers, his post, could have acknowledged the work that is being done, the care many have for the land, and when we have problems, bring the solutions to the table so we can all help enable them. But it wasn't a productive post.
Anyway, rant over... the point is, there are lots of people working really hard for our conservation and restoration. Earlier this year, the Our Waitarakao strategy was formally adopted and set out clear first steps and long-term actions to improve water quality, restore biodiversity, strengthen resilience to flooding and coastal erosion, and create new pockets of wildlife habitat across the catchment. The solutions are ready to be enabled with a formal commitment to stick to it and to make it work.
The need is very real, and has reached a critical point. Once much larger, the lagoon has shrunk dramatically over time. In the early 1880s it covered around 250 hectares. Today it’s closer to 50 or 60. Drainage, altered waterways, agricultural, industrial, harbour works and development have rapidly impacted and reshaped the landscape. The lagoon’s ability to function as a healthy system has been compromised.
It’s uncomfortable to sit with that loss if I am honest, but it sharpens the question and reinforces... why it is important to care and to act? If we know what’s been lost, what are we prepared to do for what remains?
So with all this in mind, and lots of car conversations on the Rosewill Valley Roads, we pulled over on creek where there’s a small, signposted corner where the public is welcome to explore from the road verge.
The community can go inside the wooden gate and see the result of one man’s personal effort over the past ten years. Spade by spade, plant by plant, he’s been shaping a wee loop walk by a small stream's edge. The path makes you slow down and take notice of the plants around you and the tweets of birds. I really enjoyed seeing all the natives and looking at their labels to confirm whether I could identify them correctly.
Ten years is a long time to keep planting without guarantees. Walking that loop, I felt the weight of their commitment, and the intent and hope behind it.
The great news is, he’s not the only one doing this kind of work across the catchment, and like many others, this small corner reminds us that much of the real work happens at a small scale, on many properties, often out of sight, and there are lots of people just quietly getting on with things and making their wee bit of difference to the grand scheme.
Even on a damp day, the place felt alive. Young natives reaching up and flowering. Birds flittering between branches. You could see how this wee patch is growing to work as intended. The planting is stabilising banks, filtering sediment, shading water, and creating the conditions needed for insects, fish and birds to return. Repeated across a catchment, it adds up.
While the project supports better farming practices to improve water quality downstream, it also builds on the efforts of many farm and property owners who’ve been caring for this land for years, sometimes for generations. This work acknowledges existing stewardship and looks for ways to support, connect, and strengthen it.
Now that the strategy has been adopted early 2025, the focus is firmly on implementation. Riparian planting. Pest and weed control. Monitoring water quality. Fish surveys. Education. School visits. Beach clean-ups. Practical, on-the-ground work carried out by agencies, landowners, volunteers, businesses, and sponsors, all guided by a shared plan. (P.S if you want to be a sponsor or volunteer, contact ECan, ask for Chris Fauth to find out how).
Many people drive past Washdyke Lagoon without giving it much thought. We need to be aware that there is a window left to save it, as once wetland systems are lost, they’re incredibly hard to bring back.
It was great to see earlier in the year that the Our Waitarakao long-term, collaborative approach be recognised nationally, with the Our Waitarakao strategy receiving a Local Government New Zealand award for outstanding community stewardship and partnership. That recognition is reassuring, but for me it’s not the actual point. I think the real measure of success will be proof in the areas cleaner water, stronger ecosystems, less damage when floods come, people feeling connected enough to care, and satisfied the small efforts are contributing to the big plan.
I really enjoyed played a very small part behind the scenes... supporting the branding for the Our Waitarakao project by digitising Francine Spencer’s original design and shaping it with her into a working project identity. It felt meaningful at the time, and now seeing that brand out in the landscape on signs, units the team, plans, solutions and efforts, the sign marks one of many places where real change is taking root, and brought the work from my computer screen full circle.
It was also just nice to stop and look closely at the work my husband Chris has been involved in over the past few years, and to see the progress with our own eyes and his explanation. Sometimes you forget how much has been done until you step back to reflect.
We got back in the car as the rain returned, and journeyed on to find a sign at an old school of Rosewill... another blog is in progress ?
Thank you to all that are involved with what is happening out there. All of the smaller, deliberate actions, repeated by many people over time are making a difference.
If there’s a takeaway from a slow walk like this, it’s that change doesn’t arrive fully formed. It’s grown. One fence line. One streams edge. One planting day. One trap checked. One conversation. One decision to care a bit more about what flows past your place, or where your stormwater ends up, or how often you drive past a lagoon without really seeing it.
Pay attention.
Ask questions.
Support the people already doing the work.
Share the story.
Turn up when you can.
Together, it adds up. Small actions matter. Especially when lots of people take them together. All it takes to begin is choosing to look a little more closely.
If you’d like to learn more, or see how you might be part of what’s happening, the Our Waitarakao project page sets out the work already underway and the many practical ways people are contributing across the catchment.
Whether you own land, run a business, or simply live nearby, there are opportunities to support the health of the lagoon and the wider catchment. From planting unproductive land and fencing waterways, to predator control, monitoring, clean-ups, education, sponsorship, or lending skills and resources. Much of the work builds on what people are already doing, offering support, coordination and momentum.
As well as the Out Our Waitarakao project, there is a Rosewill Valley Catchment Group, who are based on the rolling downlands inland of Timaru and includes Waitarakao (Washdyke Lagoon), one of South Canterbury’s most culturally and ecologically significant sites. This traditional mahika kai area is a rare remnant of the once extensive coastal wetland system between the Rangitata and Waitaki Rivers. The group is involved in the Our Waitarakao Project. The catchment has been heavily shaped by history. Aerial photographs from the 1930s show complete vegetation removal, followed by more than a century of intensive farming. Using a physiographic approach to understand the landscape’s geology has been transformative. The area’s heavy clay soils naturally remove nitrates, allowing the group to focus on priorities such as soil health and reducing sediment runoff.
Much of the group’s work centres on healing past environmental damage while managing an actively farmed landscape that is naturally prone to sediment loss, particularly during wet winter periods. This involves restoring and enhancing habitats and implementing practical solutions such as sediment detention measures. Long-term success will rely on strong relationships, outreach, and rebuilding trust in regulatory processes. In the past, farmers who took positive environmental actions have sometimes been disadvantaged when later seeking consents. Future progress will require more integrated approaches that recognise and support proactive, on-the-ground environmental stewardship rather than relying solely on regulation."
Thank you to all involved and the man, his spade and his baby plants who is growing a special native nook.
https://www.livinglandscapes.nz/rosewill-valley
You can explore the projects, read the strategy, and find out how to get involved here:
https://www.ecan.govt.nz/your-region/your-environment/water/whats-happening-in-my-water-zone/orari-temuka-opihi-pareora-water-zone/our-waitarakao
Please note the property owner is happy for public to open the brown gate and explore the small walking loop - but please obviously be respectful of the area.
The Rosewill Valley Catchment Group is based on the rolling downlands inland of Timaru and includes Waitarakao (Washdyke Lagoon), one of South Canterbury’s most culturally and ecologically significant sites. This traditional mahinga kai area is a rare remnant of the once extensive coastal wetland system between the Rangitata and Waitaki Rivers. The group is involved in the Our Waitarakao Project. The catchment has been heavily shaped by history. Aerial photographs from the 1930s show complete vegetation removal, followed by more than a century of intensive farming. Using a physiographic approach to understand the landscape’s geology has been transformative. The area’s heavy clay soils naturally remove nitrates, allowing the group to focus on priorities such as soil health and reducing sediment runoff.
Much of the group’s work centres on healing past environmental damage while managing an actively farmed landscape that is naturally prone to sediment loss, particularly during wet winter periods. This involves restoring and enhancing habitats and implementing practical solutions such as sediment detention measures. Long term success will rely on strong relationships, outreach, and rebuilding trust in regulatory processes. In the past, farmers who took positive environmental actions have sometimes been disadvantaged when later seeking consents. Future progress will require more integrated approaches that recognise and support proactive, on the ground environmental stewardship rather than relying solely on regulation." - https://www.livinglandscapes.nz/rosewill-valley
Soil erosion caused by flood - South Canterbury Museum 3182
This is a montage showing soil erosion caused by the "great flood" of February 1945 in Levels County.
Fifteen prints mounted on a card backing providing labelled views:
- "Hillside slips. J Agnew. Totara Valley" (two prints);
- "Erosion of clay by running water. Rosewill Valley Road";
- "Hillside slips. W A Hartnett. Levels Valley";
- "Erosion of ploughed land. W J Black. Limestone Valley" (two prints);
- Overflow from the Opuha River - Raincliff. Pleasant Point-Fairlie M.H.";
- "Timaru Airport. Saltwater Creek" (two prints);
- "Opihi River erosion. A P Shaw. Kerrytown" (three prints);
- "Hillside slips. D A Robertson. Rosewill Valley";
- "Hillside slips. E O'Connell. Totora Valley";
- "Erosion of ploughed land. R B Johnson. Rosewill."