Pōhara Wetland - a community space

What is the Pōhara Wetland crowdfunding project?

The lowland around Pohara wants to be a wetland, and we’d like to help it return to that state. This land is in the heart of Golden Bay, where people live and where most housing development is currently happening.

We want to create a community wetland in Pohara that the public can enjoy via walkways, plantings, picnics, school visits, and wetland development.

This area isn’t suitable for building and is prone to flooding, so we would like to support nature to to return to and enhance what historically was naturally there.

Wetlands provide many benefits to people, including water quality improvement, and carbon capture; while building natural habitats and biodiversity

Register your interest in this project - join the Friends of East Mohua newsletter - by emailing: friendsofeastmohua@gmail.com

Who we are - 6 Golden Bay locals plus a community of supporters

Friends of East Mohua member Hans Stoffregen

Born and bred near Hamburg in northern Germany, Hans Stoffregen has a Masters in Conservation Studies, and was a senior manager for biodiversity for the Department of Conservation, based in Takaka in the north of the South Island, for 28 years before retiring this year.

He feels lucky enough to have worked in a field where he could make a difference. “Ten or 20 years ago I planted trees, now they’re a forest. And we’re lucky in Golden Bay; we have some awesome programmes coming up. We’re engaged in all sorts of projects to control major pests and bring missing bits of flora and fauna back into the park."

Friends of East Mohua community coordinator Anna Scheier

After finishing her masters in design at the Karlsruhe University of Arts and Design Anna worked in several educational programs for governmental organizations and NGOs, also for a community pottery workshop and as a learning and instructional designer. In her work she rides the line between the creative digital world and offline experiences. She is passionate about New Zealand native birds.

For the Pohara wetland she envisions a nurturing community space that unites people through a shared connection with nature, inspired by the beautiful surroundings of Mohua/Golden Bay.

Friends of East Mohua member Richard Struthers

The pathways to this point in life for me include: for ever roaming the back-country of Aotearoa; for a crust, building, planting pine trees and chopping them down, guiding tourists on our western glaciers, and helping manage our shared conservation land. My family and I have been fortunate to live in places of great natural beauty and wellbeing.

Friends of East Mohua member Gaike Knottenbelt-Robson

Gaike is a retired outdoor educator who has set up a number of programmes around New Zealand including time as School director at the New Zealand Outward Bound School.

In more recent years he completed a masters in Environmental education and is passionate about the regeneration of native vegetation.

Friends of East Mohua member Rod Barker

Rod is passionate about environmental management with a background in mental health, outdoor leadership, and conservation; his interests reflect a love for societal and environmental influences. Fascinated by science, history, and culture, he finds joy in interacting with people and nature, driven by philosophy and ecological economics.

With support from PledgeMe projects and marketing lead Charlotte Squire - based in Golden Bay

Charlotte has over two years of experience working for PledgeMe supporting people to build and market successful crowdfunding projects. She has 20 + years experience as a writer, including being a former Golden Bay reporter, she's also a writing teacher and a musician. She worked in the climate and sustainability sector for decades, holding numerous communication roles.

Who will own and manage the Pōhara Wetland?

While we are crowdfunding to buy the land, we don't plan to own it once we've bought it. We are currently working out who will own the Pōhara Wetland and manage it into the future. They will have the resources to pay rates, development and ongoing maintenance costs for this wetland.

Budget breakdown

We are seeking to raise the funds to buy the land - subject to negotiation with land owners. We will provide a budget breakdown as soon as we can. We're currently negotiating with Tasman District Council over rates and fees.

What does this land mean to Manawhenua Ki Mohua *

The landform where Abel Tasman Drive curves into Pohara is a sandy beach backed by dunes. Streams (Ellis Creek and tributaries) have been impounded by the dune ridge and are deflected west to drain into Motupipi Estuary. Development of the coastal settlement of Pohara has revealed a wealth of archaeological evidence of a long period of people occupying the dune ridge.

These Maori were supported by sea, estuary and freshwater resources, forest resources, soils suitable for kumara cultivation and connections by land and sea pathways to other sites in Mohua and beyond. In the vicinity of the junction of Selwyn Street and Abel Tasman Drive the dune ridge has a concentration of cultural evidence including middens, ovens, whare, tools and burials and as a consequence is of high cultural significance to Manawhenua of Mohua.

This information was provided by Manawhenua Ki Mohua iwi researcher Simon Walls

Who will be effected by the Pōhara Wetland?

Community adjacent to the proposed wetland
Wider community surrounding the Pōhara Wetland
Manawhenua Ki Mohua - local iwi
Friends of East Mohua (FOEM) members/associates
Tasman District Council (TDC)
Other local interest groups e.g.: Friends of Golden Bay, Forest and Bird, NZ Landcare Trust, NZ Wetland Trust

Crowdfunding - rewards we will offer in exchange for people's pledges

We are preparing to work with PledgeMe, who are a rewards-based, all-or-nothing, Kiwi crowdfunding platform. You can pledge in exchange for the following rewards (note, these will change before our campaign goes live):

$10 + Your name (and comment if you want to) on our PledgeMe crowdfunding page
$1000 + Your name on a sign we build to honour people who have financially contributed - the more you contribute, the larger your name
$10,000 + We name one of our interpretation panels after you
$20,000 + We name one of the seats after you
$20,000 + Your name on our larger signage options - the more you contribute, the larger your name (or business name)

Current wetland in Pōhara, administered by Tasman District Council, which our new wetland would link to.

Page updated

Report abuse