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.

They've ventured into a range of new and innovative projects. These include mapping the ecology of all the waterways in the Gisborne region - in partnership with schools and community groups - and developing relative restoration plans with students, whanau and the Gisborne DC and Wairoa DC.

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 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 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, which was the location used in the LEARNZ Wet Feet Field Trip in 2009. The Wet Feet LEARNZ virtual learning field trip was hosted by the Department of Conservation and the Whitebait Connection. 

The Far North is the birthplace of the Wet Feet Freshwater Inquiry Teaching Resource which is used in Northland WBC delivery. Much of the Whitebait Connection 'Investigating Freshwater' Inquiry Resource DVD was filmed in the Far North area with Oturu School.

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.

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