A Waitaki Valley wetland has undergone restoration work with funding assistance to the landowner from Environment Canterbury's Immediate Steps programme and the Department of Conservation.
The restoration work on the Otiake wetland is being co-ordinated by the Department of Conservation, which manages the wetland in partnership with landowner Kate White.
The department said the wetland was one of the best remaining habitats of its type in the lower Waitaki Valley, home to a number of native species including longfin eel and remnant native plants such as raupo, toetoe and Carex secta.
"It has been a very amicable partnership between us and Doc," Ms White said.
"We love the wetland and get a lot of pleasure out of it. There are white swans that come and go, herons and other birds, including two groups of pukekos that don't mix," she said.
Controlling invasive willows and other weeds had been a focus of the restoration work, as well as erecting fencing to exclude stock and planting native plants.
The wetlands not only provided important habitat for native species, they also protected downstream water quality by trapping sediment and absorbing nutrients.
The project received $32,000 in Immediate Steps funding and $16,000 from the department.
