Waitītiko-Meola Creek restoration - STEPS NZ

09/04/2026

Mark your calendars! On the 18th April Saturday 12pm - 2pm @ Mt Albert Library

Have an opportunity to learn about the wonders of Wetlands and Lava Rock Forests in our City (and maybe just a 5min walk away from you) hosted by our wonderful ecological coordinator Vanitha!

23/03/2026

Another fun Waitītiko hikoi was held on Saturday 21 March. This time we looked at Roy Clements Treeway restoration plantings from above, from Ōwairaka Mt Albert. Then we walked along the treeway, and saw evidence of two hidden awa (piped and buried creeks).
Thanks Vanitha of STEPS, and Pita Turei who told amazing pakiwaitara stories.
Also Rohan and Trixi of SPICE, , David and Liz of Waitītiko-Meola Creek restoration - STEPS NZ

23/03/2026

Be prepared for our next big storm & flood.
Come along to workshops in Meola catchment, at Mt Albert, Epsom and Pt Chev libraries.
Mt Albert - Thursday 26 March 5pm
Epsom - 7 April
Pt Chev - 18 April
Please share this poster to help your street or community.

10/03/2026

Then they "drained the swamp"... now Gribblehirst Park, rugby ground, with surrounding houses suffering floods, no stormwater pipes! Looking forward to new PC 120 plan change limiting development in Meola catchment to protect people!
Amazing photo...

🌳🛣 Cabbage Tree Swamp was the earliest European name for an area, east of Mt Albert that had emerged out of volcanic activity. The Māori name for this area was Ngā Anawai 'The cavern or grotto waters'. The waters were said to flow in underground caverns. Valleys dammed by volcanic activity became swampy and were places where the tuna (eel) lived and cabbage trees grew thickly. The areas of swamp extended from the present day Eden Park through the low lying land of Sandringham to Parry Street.

Image: Looking south showing Cabbage Tree Swamp in Sandringham, now Gribblehirst Park, with Mount Eden in the background. Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections 4-01137. Photographer: J.D.Richardson.

08/03/2026

The Inanga are laying eggs, and in partnership with mountains to the sea conservation trust Whitebait Connection - WBC, we are on the look to better study, protect, and enhance habitat within the Meola Creek for Inanga for future generations!

Inanga lay eggs in thick vegetative native grasses like Oioi during hightide! So we're looking to see how well they are doing at our restoration site!

If interested in helping out protect our Urban Environments! Reach out and enquire about Volunteering with us today!
Help us bring back nature to the city!

07/03/2026

Vote for Inanga for FISH OF THE YEAR!

Vote here!: https://www.mountainstosea.org.nz/fish-of-the-year?fbclid=IwdGRjcAQZextjbGNrBBl7GGV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkDDM1MDY4NTUzMTcyOAABHio_06-eL73tFW56RwnaLNCiGnLk3Y6ihX2rijugdVlKmPvopwwL3DNub6M8_aem_UtT-OX-OAWjluETRe5p6Gw

🚨🐟 ATTENTION VOTERS 🐟🚨

Still undecided about your Fish of the Year 2026 vote? Let us introduce you to a true underdog…
✨ The īnanga (Galaxias maculatus) ✨

They may be small, silvery, and easy to miss — but this little legend is a heavyweight in our waterways.
🌊 Native to Aotearoa
🌱 Vital to healthy rivers and estuaries
🥚 Famous for their incredible egg-laying journey in riverside grasses
⚠️ Currently threatened and in need of our support
Īnanga are the quiet battlers of our streams. They don’t roar like a shark or glow like a deep-sea dazzler — but they are the heartbeat of our whitebait runs and a taonga species woven into our freshwater story.

A vote for īnanga is a vote for:
💧 Cleaner rivers
🌿 Protected wetlands
🐟 Native biodiversity
💚 The little guys who need a big champion

This year, let’s back the fish that truly needs the boost.
👉 Cast your vote.
👉 Back the underdog.
👉 Make 2026 the Year of the Īnanga.

Vote Īnanga today at: https://www.mountainstosea.org.nz/fish-of-the-yearorg.nz

20/02/2026

Experts now support what STEPS has been working for: expanding green spaces and trees is clearly needed in our AELB area. We have amongst the lowest open space areas per inhabitant in Auckland or NZ. Yet PC120 plan was to intensify with 10-15 storeys around tiny pocket parks!

As summers get hotter, Auckland’s concrete jungle of streets and buildings are making the city increasingly uncomfortable – and in some cases, dangerous.

27/12/2025

Before the 2026 New Year, just wanted to share some of the native wildlife that have been found inhabiting the restored Lava Rock-Wetland Ecosystem sites brought around by the hard mahi of all the volunteers of Waitītiko-Meola Creek restoration - STEPS NZ

A range of native species have been found in the urban realm and the integration of bird count surveys hope to reflect increasing numbers for the years to come due to a combination of ecological restoration, sustainable urban planning, and predator control.

If interested in helping out in the next weeding bee to help bring back Birdlife into Auckland's urban realm! DM or leave a comment and we will get in touch in how you can help out!

Happy New Years Everyone!

19/08/2025

An important piece of work shows the impacts of cyclone Gabrielle did least damage on areas cloaked in native forest. https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/570339/cyclone-gabrielle-one-of-the-most-extreme-landslide-triggering-events-globally-report
Exotic forest also gave protection from landslides. Most damage occurred on exotic pastures and "scrubland". Hardly surprising, but good to have the facts. Very disturbing to see the "the largest number of landslides that's ever been mapped from a single storm event in the world." Just imagine more than 800,000 landslides here in Aotearoa.
Thanks to Earth Sciences New Zealand for analysis of Cyclone Gabrielle landslides.

Earth Sciences New Zealand analysis estimates more than 800,000 landslides were caused by the extreme weather event.