Taiea te Taiao

2025 Waikato Catchment Group Showcase: Taiea te Taiao

A visionary ecological restoration project is transforming a 40km corridor in the Waipā District, thanks to a unique collaboration between iwi, landowners, and community groups. 

It’s known as Taiea te Taiao Ecological Corridor, however the full name gifted from mana whenua is Taiea te Taiao mā Mangapiko mai i Maungatautari ki Pirongia te aroaro o Kahu ahu ake. 

The catchment group aims to reconnect two significant maunga (mountains) via a thriving native corridor. This landscape-scale initiative takes a “stepping stones” approach, focusing on intensive restoration of key cultural sites and strategically located areas throughout the corridor. 

Taiea te Taiao was established in 2021, building on 18 years of successful riparian work carried out by the Lower Mangapiko Streamcare Group. It takes a three-pronged approach to cherishing the environment while uniting the conservation efforts of landowners. 

Ecology is the first building block – with the group guiding landowners and community members on how biodiversity and farming communities can thrive together. Second is a focus on the environment, which they’re striving to enhance through native planting, animal pest and weed control, erosion control, and river management. The final piece is education, actively engaging with communities, monitoring biodiversity, and sharing what they learn.  

Since 2021, Taiea te Taiao has made significant progress, planting more than 250,000 native plants in the corridor, restoring wetlands and undertaking about 22km of waterway fencing. This is complemented by impressive pest and weed control efforts.   

The group is a testament to the power of collaboration. Around 60 landowners are participating in the project, with 10 members on the governance group. In addition, hundreds of people engage with events and education, trapping and restoration.  

Taiea te Taiao hopes to continue building on its successful foundation, further enhancing and monitoring biodiversity across the corridor’s landscape while also improving waterway health.