The restoration of the land has been a community effort.

The Wairakei Community is on a restoration journey, building community spirit and restoring the taiao (environment) one event at a time.

By Rachel Canning - Tangata Media

A Matariki celebration event is being held in Wairakei this Sunday, and everyone is welcome, nau mai haere mai!

This Matariki, the community is coming together for an hour, to mulch some of the 9500 young trees. This will be followed by a cultural celebration with shared kai, live music, and a chance to take part in weaving and the Māori traditional game ki-o-rahi.

Wairakei Community Group spokesperson Jenni Scothern-King says Matariki is a time for remembrance, joy, and peace, and for people to come together to celebrate.

This week people are donating vegetables for a shared soup made by Hare Rewi from Positive Kaibration.

“Sharing food at Matariki is a powerful way to unify through food and music,” Jenni says.

Other activities include painting a rock to remember a loved one who has passed away. Youthtown is leading a game of Ki-o-Rahi. Weavers will have harakeke flax to lead raranga creativity, and there will be rat trap building.

The late Joe McCreadie donated his time and tractor to mow the Wairakei School sports field for 38 years.

In partnership with Greening Taupō, Wairakei Community Group has organised a mulching session for the 4.2ha indigenous forest that was planted two years ago with tiny 35cm seedlings. Jenni says the young trees need extra care as the site is cold and the soil is poor.

The new ngahere is dedicated to Wairakei resident Joe McCreadie who donated his time (and tractor) to mow the sports field at Wairakei Primary School for an astonishing 38 years, from 1985 until 6 months before he passed away in January 2023. Joe’s son, Sheldon McCreadie, says his father would do anything for anyone, and is proud of his father’s 38 years of service to the Wairakei community.

“The school tried to pay him, but he wouldn’t take a cent. He was a person who just did his thing and didn’t want any recognition,” Sheldon says.

The newly planted ngahere is located beside Wairakei Village, and can be seen from the SH1-5 Wairakei roundabout.

In 2021 the mature pine trees were harvested, and curious Wairakei Primary School parent and Kids Greening Taupō lead education coordinator Rachel Thompson couldn’t resist asking one of the harvesting crew ‘will the area be replanted with natives?’

“That query let to a chain of events,” Rachel says.

One summer went by “while people were talking”, and then Greening Taupō special supporter Shawn Vennell was asked if he would take on the project.

Since 2013, Shawn and his business Quality Print have been committed to a conservation effort to restore the corridors of land along Wairakei Drive.

A Wairakei Village resident for 18 years, Shawn says restoring the land beside the village was a challenging project to take on.

“The site is so large, the weeds were flourishing, there was a large volume of rubbish to deal with, the land condition was difficult due to the pine harvesting, and the area felt unloved.”

Greening Taupō special supporter Shawn Vennell (second from left), pictured with children at last years Matariki Celebration.

Support came from many quarters. Fifteen tonnes of domestic rubbish was dug up by machine and trucked out, volunteers collected bags of rubbish, and 30 wrecked cars were taken away. Local earthmoving operators donated their time and machines to create a ‘beautiful blank canvas’, and the Taupō District Council community engagement team encouraged what is now Wairakei Community Group to partner with Greening Taupō to encourage people to get involved in the first community planting day in 2023.

Wairakei Primary School children were involved at each stage, including planting a Lizard Garden, to create a habitat that appeals to indigenous gecko and skink.

Rachel Thompson says she is happy that children at Wairakei Primary School had the opportunity to experience an indigenous planting restoration project. She says the kids helped with the pre-planting rubbish cleanup, laid out the plants, then helped plant the trees.

Shawn and volunteer Shardul have spent countless hours weeding, planting, caring for the site, and liaising with others who are caring for the site. Shawn says he and his family members have personally spent hundreds of hours at the site, at weekends and on Tuesdays.

“We’re now two seasons in. It looks like we’re going to get there.

“It’s a real joy going there and knowing that people are caring for it.”

The Details

Wairakei Community Matariki Celebration

What: Mulching young trees, followed by a cultural celebration

Where: Wairakei Village, beside the basketball courts

When: Sunday June 15th, mulching at 1pm, cultural celebration 2pm-3.30pm

Bring: Closed shoes for mulching

Enjoy: Shared late lunch prepared by Hare Rewi from Positive Kaibration, live music from WhutEversClever, join in with harakeke weaving with REAP, join in a game of Ki-o-Rahi lead by YouthTown, paint a rock to remember a loved one who has passed.

More Info: Accessible event, contact us at Facebook Messenger @WairakeiCommunityGroup