Photo: Haines Battrick, Agriplanz
In Otago a muddy pond on a patch of private farmland has been turned into a thriving, legally protected wetland in just two years.
The Thomsons Catchment Project is a community-lead mission initially to improve the water quality.
Enthusiastic teams of volunteers dug out the land, planted 41,000 native plants, and fostered the return of native species like the black billed gull and long finned eel - and now it's attained protection status from QEII.
Nicola McGrouther is the project manager with decades of experience in restoring catchments on farms.
