Paul joined Otago Fish & Game in 2015. Maintenance of the old Fish & Game hatchery buildings and associated headwater springs of Bullock Creek was a project on his to do list as the 2.7ha wetlands at the head of Bullock Creek was inaccessible and choked with exotic weeds. Prior to joining Fish & Game Paul gained a background in biodiversity and conservation work working for the Department of Conservation. From 2005 to 2015 he worked as a self-employed ecologist specialising in surveying and management of threatened bird species including mohua, fernbird, weka, whio and kea. Paul has been living in Wanaka since 2012.

www.corrections.govt.nz

The Touchstone Project is a direct action initiative to support those concerned about the Lake Wanaka water catchment and to help educate those who are not. 'Touchstone' - refers to the lake being an assimilator of all human activity in the surrounding catchment. Water bodies such as large lakes are often referred to as “touchstones” of the past.

At Touchstone we work with people who 'do stuff' - those making tangible differences, and by starting to gather and understand information about what affects our lake we can start to carry out actions that directly improve the lake’s values and support everything we like about living near Lake Wanaka.

Our Citizen Science Projects "What are we Swimming In?" and Down the Drains was supported by Curious Minds Funding

WAI Wānaka connects individuals, community groups, iwi, landowners and businesses undertaking positive work towards enhancing water quality, ecosystem function and reversing biodiversity loss within the Upper Clutha. The Upper Clutha's catchments and water bodies are vital for the health and wellbeing of our community, both regionally and nationally.

WAI Wānaka believes that science lies at the heart of understanding how we balance the needs of our community alongside maintaining the health of our environment and advocates for the active management of waterways supported by evidence-based decision making.

Te Kākano Aotearoa Trust is a Wanaka community-based native plant nursery that specialises in propagating plants of local origin (Upper Clutha region) and uses these plants for localised native habitat restoration. We work with local community groups, schools, organisations & businesses in the effort to promote hands-on community land care.

Our mission is to inspire community native habitat restoration through propagation, education and hands-on participation.

Te Kakano was involved at the beginning of the Bullock Creek planting project in 2016. We helped with the clearing and initial clean-up of the wetland. To learn more about Te Kākan, visit our website: www.tekakano.org.nz

FOBC has been the grateful recipient of funding from OCC whose objectives include:

Providing organisational support for Catchment Groups and their volunteers. Assisting with the formation and direction setting of new and emerging groups. Assisting individual groups with accessing funding. Providing administration support to help create and run groups. Help Catchment Groups and OCC communicate their story. Facilitating access to experts, information, technology, and education. Establishing enduring funding pipelines to support changing needs. Facilitate collaboration between Catchment Groups, Government, Regional Authorities and Stakeholders.