Opportunity  for young writers to stand up for an ‘ecological gem’

Competition runs from Saturday 01 February –  Friday 07 March.

The Ashley-Rakahuri Rivercare Group (ARRG) is giving young writers the opportunity to stand up for an ‘ecological gem’ in need of help.

The group is holding a competition to highlight the Ashley-Rakahuri River Estuary at Waikuku Beach. The Ashley-Rakahuri River Estuary Young Writers competition is open to all North Canterbury primary school pupils, including home-schooled children, and entrants will be asked to write a short story or poem of up to 400 words about the estuary. It is hoped that the young writers’ stories and poems will raise awareness about this taonga/treasure and also encourage the formation of a local volunteer group to provide the urgent protection it needs.

ARRG members believe that the formation of such a group is ‘an absolutely key ingredient’ to improving the natural environment of the estuary.

An ARRG spokesman Nick Ledgard says the estuary is an ‘ecological gem’ and should be regarded as the jewel in Waimakariri’s biodiversity crown.

“It is one of the most important habitats for migratory shore birds in the South Island,” he says.

“This is due to its significant expanses of tidal mudflats compared to other east coast river mouths.

The estuary attracts a huge variety of bird species, such as the native white heron, black and pied stilts, wrybill, banded dotterel, black- and white-fronted terns and oystercatchers, plus international migrants such as the godwit, sanderling, red-necked stint and ruddy turnstone. It is this, together with its outstanding natural beauty and its accessibility, which makes it extra special,” Nick says.

“Apart from the passing migrants, it also acts as a staging post for braided river birds (such as wrybill/ngutu pare) before and after they breed on the braided rivers of Canterbury.  A number of bird species nest at the estuary—two of the most often seen are the banded dotterel/pohowera and variable oystercatcher/torea pango.”

The estuary has been “a superb bird habitat for thousands of years”, says the Group’s operations manager, Grant Davey. However, the bird numbers are now in decline and the estuary is under serious threat from human activity in the form of vehicles, pedestrians (especially those with dogs) and sometimes planes. “This has increased over recent years and is probably the main reason for the decline in bird numbers,” Grant says.

“For example, a popular recreating area is the spit, where the number of banded dotterel/pohowera breeding has dropped from 30 plus in the 1980s to just three today.”

The Waimakariri District Council’s Northern Pegasus Bay Bylaw 2024 lays down regulations to protect the estuary environment and its many endangered inhabitants, but enforcement has proved difficult and signs in the area outlining the rules are often ignored.

Prizes

The winner will receive a weekend’s accommodation at the Waikuku Beach Holiday Park for a family of four plus a guided tour of the estuary by an AARG member.

Second prize will be a family pass to Willowbank Reserve in Christchurch and third prize will be a family pass to Rangiora Town Hall Cinemas.

How to enter