New Wai Fencing students inspired by past students' effort at the revitalised native habitat at Rangiputa Station farm.

This March, in the Far North, staff from Northland Regional Council (NRC) and our Enviroschools team held the first Wai Fencing event of the year at Rangiputa Station farm.

This event was particularly special as it revisited a site where students had fenced off a waterway two years ago.

Since then, the team at the farm have riparian planted the area with native plants, transforming it into a thriving ecosystem.

Murray Fox, Fencer General at the farm who originally put up the fence posts in 2022, was there on the day and got stuck in with teaching a new group valuable lessons in fencing.

“I really enjoy the days with the students, it’s exciting for me to see how dedicated they are to learning new skills,” Murray said.

“We fenced a little pond as a test area in 2022, and the new group got to see it after the natives had been planted. It was great for them to see what a difference it makes.”

NRC’s Land Management Advisor, Holly Chappell was also there to give a presentation on Wai Fencing in Northland.

She explained the importance of excluding stock from waterways to prevent erosion and effluent runoff, which can carry pollutants from paddocks into streams.

Holly highlighted the benefits to livestock, such as access to clean water, and the improvement of riparian zones and wetlands for native plants and animals.

“The students’ engagement in Wai Fencing is rewarding. A lot of them come from farms and it provides them an opportunity to learn new skills and find out about a career path they may not have known about before,” Holly said.

Susan Karels, Education Manager for Enviroschools at NRC, highlighted the educational impact of the event.

“Seeing the past students' hard work pay off and the area flourish is incredibly rewarding. I'm looking forward to seeing what they achieve at their assessment day next month,” Susan said.

Conservation is well in action at Rangiputa, having dedicated 70-80ha to wetlands and experimented with 2-ha of native species such as manuka, flaxes, and cabbage trees last year.