Waitītiko / Meola Creek rises on the slopes of Ōwairaka / Mt Albert and flows 5km to the Waitematā at Te Tokaroa (Meola Reef). The St Lukes Environmental Protection Society (STEPS) have been campaigning on its behalf since 2004.
During the twentieth century the stream was poorly treated. In fact, about 2km of its length isn’t even visible as it has been piped under the houses of Mt Albert. The stream may be short and largely hidden, but it has the largest catchment on the Auckland isthmus stretching eastwards from the awa itself and encompassing most of Mt Eden, Sandringham and Balmoral.
STEPS have lots of fascinating information on their website, including their excellent Mountain to Sea Walk, following (as far as is possible) the course of the stream. Some of their most visible successes are around Roy Cements Treeway (a Significant Ecological Area), where planting and weeding have greatly enhanced a wetland and created a small section of rock forest habitat.
more on STEPS activities here …..A recent exciting development has been the introduction of biocontrol agents (a beetle and a fungus) which target the weed Tradescantia. Thinning out the smothering ground cover of ‘Trad’ will allow native seedlings to grow and enhance natural forest regeneration beside the boardwalk.
- other work
- Roy Clements Treeway
- Chamberlain park restoration along the creekside
From the northwestern motorway to the sea, Waitītiko / Meola Creek wends its way past Waiōrea Community Recycling Centre, Pasadena Intermediate, Western Springs College, Te Mahurehure Cultural Marae and the backs of some Pt Chevalier houses.
- Since 2011 the Bluegreens have removed over 2 tonnes of rubbish and exotic weeds from the streamside bush beside the Waiōrea Community Recycling Centre. They’ve transformed a former rubbish tip into a little urban oasis planting over 3000 grasses and trees, regularly trapping for possums and rats
- Urban Ark and weeders from Pest Free Pt Chevalier are driving the continued restoration of Motions Reserve, building on plantings done around 2010 by the Rasheed Memorial Trust.
- Pasadena Intermediate and Pt Chev School run occasional sedge, shrub and tree-planting sessions in Pasadena Reserve supported by Trees for Survival.
- Students from Ngā Puna O Waiōrea and the Western Springs College Enviro group are planting the stream floodplains and banks on the school boundary. They collect rubbish, weed and plant native species including sedges, shrubs and trees.
- Students from several schools have been involved planting streamside at Te Mahurehure Cultural Marae for several years now. This work is supported by Whitebait Connection who are hoping that inanga (one of our whitebait species) will be able to successfully spawn among the new sedges planted.
- STEPS are working hard to create a rock-forest-style section of bush where the true right back of Waitītiko meet the MOTAT Aviation section. Regular trapping and weeding is supplemented by species enhancement planting in the hope that these ‘rock forest species’ will eventually replace the dominant privet canopy.
- Pt Chevalier Scouts and Trees for Survival have been working together since 2018 to replant the previously-barren true right bank of Waitītiko close to Meola Road. It is now looking increasingly lush, with recent enrichment planting helping create a more biodiverse streambank.