School kids muck in to save mudfish

Forty children from Wellsford School got their knees and hands dirty planting 760 trees in a single session last month to help protect a wetland in Pakiri.

Trees for Survival is an organisation that connects landowners with schools to restore native forest, to create clean waterways and prevent erosion.

It is working with 90 schools in the Auckland region, including Wellsford, Pakiri, Ahuroa, Snells Beach, Kaipara Flats and Mahurangi College.

Planting day coordinator Frankie Hofland says the site in Pakiri is of particular importance because it is one of only two identified spots in the region to be home to the native black mudfish, which is classified as ‘at risk’ by Department of Conservation (DOC) due to declining numbers.

“Though it is dry here in the summer, the raupo grass remains water-logged. The mudfish hibernate in them over the summer until the rain returns,” he says.

The kids planted native species, including mānuka, karamū, cabbage trees, flax, mahoe and sedge grasses.

Frankie says these are what are known as ‘nursery trees’ because they propagate very fast by dropping seeds. They create a forest quickly and don’t require a canopy for protection. This will encourage wet, muddy soils extending the mudfish’s habitat.

“The school was provided with 1000 seedlings the size of your thumb in July, and they have grown them into plants and are now taking responsibility for planting them,” Frankie says.

Teacher Christine Walton says for the last year the school had been raising eco-warriors.

“We want them to experience the great Kiwi tradition of mucking in. It is that idea of a community coming together and achieving something for the future,” she says.

“It has been very rainy today, but you don’t hear any complaints. The kids are laughing and have a sense of purpose about it.”

The school was provided with seedlings and a shade house for the project thanks to sponsorship from Jamie Frew at Wharehine ReadyMix, Elaine Morley at Rodney GJ Gardner and the Warkworth Rotary Club.

According to DOC, mudfish have the unusual ability to survive out of water by burrowing into mud under tree roots or damp leaf litter.

During this time, they coat themselves in a mucus that keeps them moist enough to continue absorbing oxygen through their skin while in hibernation.

There were once significant populations of mudfish in the Waikato but the DOC estimates that 75 per cent of the wetlands there have now been drained.