The current focus in this region is on monitoring and raising awareness
of local freshwater issues, supporting local government initiatives and local community groups in North and West Auckland.
Key waterways of current projects include the Mahurangi River (Rodney – Hauraki Gulf), Kaipara – Hoteo River sub-catchment, Henderson Creek, Snells Beach, Long Bay and Kaipatiki Creek .
Gisborne's goal is to deliver schools and their communities practical, holistic and inspiring information and education about local freshwater environments and to promote positive changes in attitudes and behaviour towards them. Their ultimate goal is to encourage and inspire schools and community groups to become kaitiakitanga/guardians of our local streams to restore, maintain or improve these sites.
Wellington became a WBC region in 2013. Zoe Studd and her team are 
delivering the programme to local schools under the umbrella of the Mountains to Sea Wellington Trust. They have been delivering WBC's sister marine programme EMR since 2010.
The 2014 MTSCT National Marine and Freshwater Wananga Conference was held in Wellington in partnership with Zoe's team.
The team hosted a regional freshwater hui in 2016. See the proceedings here..
Presentations from the hui below:
Nicola Toki - Protecting our freshwater biodiversity
Leana Barriball and Raewyn Klenner. Freshwater Values and Iwi Perspectives
Aslan Wright-Stow. Citizen Science - developing a monitoring programme for your stream
The WBC Canterbury coordinators are all based within a Christchurch 
ecology and engagement company, EOS Ecology, who also have a specialist graphic designer, Bronwyn, who designed the newly created National Inanga Spawning Programme (NISP) resources and produces wonderfully engaging documents for the team.
The Whitebait Connection (WBC) has visited schools and marae in the Far 
and Mid North since 2002. The area contains many unique and significant wetlands and freshwater environments, such as the Aupouri Wetlands and Lake Ohia. If you are interested in having the WBC programme delivered in your area, please register your interest here:
Alternatively, please contact one of our coordinators below:
Isabel Krauss - Northland Regional Coordinator
Phone: 022 321 2818
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Palmer - Mid North WBC Coordinator
Phone 022 012 3027
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
A full list of Far and Mid North Schools is below. Schools we have worked with are in blue.
The Whitebait Connection is very much alive and wriggling in the 
Whangarei area!
WBC has worked with many schools in the Kaipara district since 2002 and 
also helped the Department of Conservation to pilot their 'Pouto Dune Lakes and Dwarf Inanga Community Education Programme' in Term One, 2010 with Pouto and Te Kopuru Schools.
We also run community events in the Kaipara such as the Kai Iwi lakes Open Day.
Most recently we've been working on finding Inanga Spawning areas in the Kaipara area alongside WBC community engagement programmes.
importance of connecting our young people to their local environment through education and experience. We know that children who are more connected to their environment have a greater likelihood of looking after it in the future. Our goal is that every school in Te Tau Ihu (Nelson/Tasman) has the opportunity to participate in the Experiencing Marine Reserves and/or Whitebait Connection programmes. The Friends of Te Whanganui-A-Hei Marine Reserve Trust are the Waikato - Coromandel/Hauraki providers for Mountains to Sea 
Conservation Trust where they deliver both the Whitebait Connection and Experiencing Marine Reserves programmes.
