Ki Uta Ki Tai - Restoration Day 2009

It's time to register for Restoration Day, a day of free seminars and workshops held each year for individuals and community groups who are currently working on environmental restoration projects in the Wellington region.

This year's Restoration Day will be held on Saturday 9 May at Te Wananga O Aotearoa in Porirua. The theme - Ki Uta Ki Tai - from the Mountains to the Sea, focuses on a whole of catchment approach to environmental restoration.

The event features keynote addresses on Ngati Toa life around Porirua Harbour prior to the arrival of Europeans, how development has affected both the harbours and iwi and how sustainable community and catchment-wide environmental outcomes can be achieved in the future.

There's also a wide range of workshops targeted to the needs of conservation volunteers - stream ecology, promotion and marketing restoration projects, climate change, animal and weed control, plant propagation and making the Resource Management Act work for you.

The day also includes field trips to Pauatahanui Inlet, Porirua Stream and the Friends of Maara Roa's ecological restoration site in Belmont Regional Park. Friends of Maara Roa were joint winners of Greater Wellington's Rata Community Partnership Award last year.

"Restoration Day is a great opportunity for us to recognise the people working to make our region a better place to live, and provide them with a range of practical skills and ideas to continue their great work," Robyn Smith, Greater Wellington's team leader for Community Environmental Projects says.

Restoration Day is organised and supported by Greater Wellington Regional Council, Department of Conservation, Wellington City Council and Porirua City Council. A programme outline is on next page. For more information and a booking form go to www.gw.govt.nz/restorationday