Tomahawk Lagoons

Forest and Bird, Issue 280, 1 May 1996, Page 12

Tomahawk Lagoons

THE DUNEDIN Kiwi Conservation Club has come up trumps with its contribution to the restoration of a wetland on the southern side of the Otago Peninsula. The KCC group, led by the mercurial Ken Mason, recently won an Otago Regional Council environmental award for its work over five years in helping to restore the three-hectare covenanted area around the Tomahawk Lagoons. Close to the city, the shallow lagoons are an important area for birds such as crested grebe, white heron, shoveler, grey teal, marsh crake, spotted crake and paradise duck. In order to protect its project from stock, the KCC initiated the fencing and covenanting of much of the lagoon’s shoreline. KCC members have been planting species around the lagoon that have almost disappeared locally, such as Pseudopanax ferox, Olearia avicenifolia, prostate fuchsia and cabbage trees. The project has not been without its troubles. A neighbouring farmer has a penchant for burning and in November

one of five fires on his property came within metres of the covenanted area. "Another time cattle came through after a fence burned down," said Ken Mason. "They knocked out three years of regeneration." "Children’s work is often under-rated," says Ken, who has been visiting the area for more than 30 years. "At Tomahawk Lagoons it’s not just revegetation, but restoration."