Caring for the Catchment: Community Action for Whangateau Harbour
Whangateau HarbourCare is proud to support the development of a community-led Action Plan for the harbour — a collective effort that brings together individuals and groups to protect and restore this special place.
Alicia Bullock, Project Lead, provides an update about this collaborative, community-powered initiative.
Why a Community-led Action Plan?
Whangateau Harbour is one of the most ecologically significant estuarine systems in Aotearoa — home to seagrass and shellfish beds, juvenile snapper nurseries, endangered shorebirds, and a variety of sea-life including schools of parore, seahorses, and rays. It’s a place of beauty, biodiversity, and deep cultural and community connection.
But this rare and treasured system is under pressure. We’ve seen declining shellfish recruitment, sediment and nutrient loads from upstream land use, struggling wildlife, habitat degradation, and increased recreational and climate-related stressors.
At the same time, we’ve seen something else: immense community energy, kaitiakitanga, and a shared willingness to take action.
A Harbour Under Pressure, a Community Responding
In May 2025, over 50 community members gathered at Point Wells Hall for the first in a three-part workshop series to build a Catchment Action Plan for the Whangateau Harbour and its wider landscape. From farmers and residents to scientists, tangata whenua, and conservationists, the turnout, the energy and the generosity of knowledge shared, reflected just how much this place means to all of us.
Building on October’s Hui for the Harbour, this first workshop has laid really strong foundations for the kaupapa. Participants shared deep local knowledge that will help us work towards our collective vision:
“A resilient and flourishing Whangateau Harbour and catchment — where clean waters, thriving biodiversity, and strong community guardianship sustain the wellbeing of nature and people for generations to come.”
At the workshop there was strong alignment around key concerns: sedimentation, biodiversity loss, runoff from land use, coastal erosion, recreational pressures, and sea level rise. Locals mapped places & things they love, areas under stress, and sites of past, present and future action. Many are already involved in riparian planting, pest control, shellfish and stream monitoring, advocacy, and restoration.
Mangrove spread was a recurring theme — with participants acknowledging both their ecological value and erosion buffering values, and concerns about their expansion. Importantly, this spread was recognised as a symptom of sedimentation from upstream. Calls for a science-informed, locally grounded approach were clear.
Through participatory mapping and group kōrero, we began roadmapping early priorities — including planting and erosion control, speed management on the water, habitat protection, citizen science, sustainable forestry, and stormwater and septic management.
Our day was enriched as we heard from Professor Simon Thrush and Professor Conrad Pilditch (Leigh Marine Lab), who helped unpack what the harbour is telling us, and from Duncan Kervell, catchment specialist, who introduced how the latest GIS technology will help identify and prioritise action.
A Collective Effort, Growing from Deep Roots
This initiative builds on decades of mahi in the area, by many different groups, communities and individuals. Whangateau HarbourCare has advocated and acted for the harbour for over 30 years – and it’s important to acknowledge the work of those who came before us, including our great ocean champion, the late Dr Roger Grace, who worked passionately for the harbour.
The 2024 Hui for the Harbour gave new collective momentum and crucial community mandate. It confirmed that we are ready to act together – and this shone through again in the May workshop.
Thanks to collaboration and support from Healthy Waters (Auckland Council), Restore Rodney East, Whangateau HarbourCare, Mountains to Sea Conservation Trust, Manuhiri Kaitiaki Charitable Trust, Forest Bridge Trust, and others, we are working together to turn this vision into community-led action.
Change comes through collective action
We’re forming a community Whangateau Catchment Collective — a broad, inclusive collective of landowners, , residents, mana whenua and mātāwaka, environmental and community groups, scientists, educators, and supporters. It’s open to all who care for this place and who believe in taking collective responsibility and action for our harbour and catchment.
The group guides the development of the Action Plan, and will then implement it, taking forward priority actions and long-term restoration — from the hills to the harbour and back again.
Aligning and amplifying what’s already happening
You may already be doing the mahi — planting, trapping, educating, monitoring, advocating. This Action Plan isn’t here to replace any of that. It’s here to connect it and amplify it. To make your work more visible, more supported, and part of a joined-up approach that funders, decision-makers, and community members can stand behind.
A living plan — for real change
The Action Plan is not a document that will gather dust on a shelf. It’s a living, digital resource — informed by data, stories, science, local knowledge and mātauranga Māori. A digital StoryMap is in development, plus interactive digital GIS tools that will help us to prioritise what we need to do and where, and a practical plan that will outline goals, measurable objectives and pathways for collective action.
The Action Plan is brought to life through our relationships, our commitments, and our shared belief that we can protect what we treasure, restore what’s been lost, and build resilience for what lies ahead.
What’s Next?
Workshop 2 will be held on Saturday 5 July 2025 in the Whangateau Hall. We’ll explore high-risk areas for contaminants in the catchment's freshwater space. We’ll learn about best practice and what’s already working locally. Guided by the local knowledge and insights gained in May’s workshop, and the latest research and data, we’ll define goals and objectives, and priorities for action - on land and in the harbour. As in May, this workshop mahi will directly shape the final Action Plan and StoryMap to be delivered in August. We’re building this together. Register here.
📨 Join the Whangateau Catchment Collective
Want to get involved, share knowledge or learn more? Your voice matters as we build the Action Plan, and your support in implementing it is vital.
Contact: whangateaucatchment@gmail.com
Ngā mihi nui to everyone contributing to this kaupapa — your insights, actions, and aroha are shaping the future of this treasured place.
Alicia, Project Lead, Whangateau Harbour & Catchment Action Plan
Read on for a summary of themes from the workshop in May…
Workshop 1 Summary - Key themes from exercises
Participants worked on large maps of the harbour and catchment. The objective was to build a shared, spatially explicit understanding of pressures, risks, community values, actions and opportunities across the catchment — linking what’s happening to where it’s happening. This will help to identify and initiate opportunities to restore the harbour. Participants also drafted roadmaps of action: 1 – 2 years; 3 -5 years and 5+ years.
Here are some of the themes that emerged from these exercises (the detailed insights will be fed directly into the Action Plan). The deep local knowledge shared reinforces the need for a systems approach– identifying what needs to happen and where, from harbour to hills.
Key Pressures & Impacts
Sedimentation – the most widespread concern, affecting marine life, shellfish beds, recreational values and encouraging mangrove spread.
Mangrove expansion – spreading into channels and tidal flats seen as problematic by many. Recognised as a symptom of sedimentation into the harbour, and acknowledged for ecological values and buffering of coast line from erosion / storm surges.
Impacts on birdlife including cats (and disturbance by humans & dogs) in the Omaha bird sanctuary and dogs in kiwi habitat.
Habitat and biodiversity loss – declining shellfish, fish and other sea-life, birdlife, and kelp forests, all linked to multiple stressors.
Recreational impacts – speeding jet skis & boats causing coastal erosion, danger to swimmers, and disturbance of wildlife.
Overfishing and taking of undersized fish, stripping of rock pools and illegal shellfish harvesting. illegal / unsustainable set nets. Impacts of lost/discarded fishing gear at wharves and snagging (injury / death) of sealife and birds with discarded hooks.
Pollution & runoff – stormwater, septic systems, agricultural and forestry runoff compromising water quality.
Coastal erosion & climate change – storm intensity causing land and habitat loss and infrastructure threats.
Seawalls – mixed views – some consider seawalls a solution to coastal erosion, others are concerned about the impacts of seawalls on habitats, wildlife and hydrodynamics (including causing scouring & erosion).
Emerging Risks
Climate change impacts – sea level rise, storm surges – concerns over impacts on habitats and land, concerns about historic coastal landfills.
Housing & urban development – growing concern over unchecked expansion without infrastructure or environmental safeguards.
Increasing population and visitor pressures on environment and wildlife.
Forestry harvesting – future sedimentation risks from clear-felling unless mitigated and replanted.
Exotic invasive species – including Caulerpa and mosquito fish, disrupting native ecosystems.
Weak regulation – concerns about ineffective environmental rules and enforcement at all levels.
Values & Special Places
Widespread community love and cultural connection to the harbour, its biodiversity, and mauri.
Strong sense of whakapapa, cultural and spiritual connection to whenua, awa and moana and intergenerational responsibility for protection and restoration.
Important places: Horseshoe Island, Ti Point, Whangateau Domain, Tamahunga and areas for fishing / kaimoana and recreation – including snorkelling, swimming, kayaking, paddle boarding.
Precious wildlife and habitats – including kororā (little blue penguins) and seahorses, the sandy reef (snapper nursery), kelp forests and intertidal foraging areas for endangered birds, streams and native bush.
Current & Past Community Action
·Riparian planting and native reforestation, predator and plant pest control, fencing, cockle monitoring, water quality and ecological monitoring, rāhui, kiwi translocation and advocacy.
Active groups include Whangateau HarbourCare, Tamahunga Trappers, Omaha Shorebird Protection Trust, Takatu Landcare, Mountains to Sea Conservation Trust, local Resident Associations and engaged locals.
Opportunities & Vision for Action
Planting of eroding waterways and slopes to mitigate sediment & runoff - guided by data, GIS, aerial surveys and local knowledge.
Forestry rewilding, stream & wetland restoration.
Mangrove encroachment management, protection of large mangroves, coastal planting and bank stabilisation.
Management and future-proofing of septic and stormwater systems – including better planning of infrastructure and development.
Managing the cumulative impacts of coastal development on the harbour via a systems approach.
Expand water quality, sediment & ecological monitoring and build long-term datasets; empower citizen science and better sharing of information between agencies and community.
Potential for shellfish restoration projects and ecological corridors.
Introduce marine protection tools: jet ski & vessel controls, nursery area & habitat protection, set net bans.
Plan for long-term resilience: climate adaptation, education, consistent and enforceable environmental protections.
Catchment-wide coordination, digital tools (StoryMap & other GIS tools), community engagement and long-term funding.