Kia Mouriora Te Kaiwharawhara Sanctuary to Sea is a 100 year project to restore the mouri (life force) of the Kaiwharawhara whaitua. A whaitua is an area of land where water flows naturally to a single location. The Kaiwharawhara Stream starts in Zealandia and is joined by tributaries as it flows through Karori, Wilton, Northland, Wadestown, Khandallah, Crofton Downs, Ngaio and Kaiwharawhara until it enters Wellington Harbour.
Karori Cemetery is part of The Kaiwharawhara whaitua. A tributary (shown in the photo) flows through the Cemetery and the stream itself and other tributaries flow near the Cemetery.
The Friends became involved because Karori Cemetery contributes to local pollution, particularly through plastic flowers being blown into the stream. We encourage people to reflect on this impact and consider more sustainable alternatives.
The Kaiwharawhara tributaries in the cemetery are difficult to access in places as the banks are steep making the spread of weeds difficult to control.
Our regular working bees aiming to control unwanted growth have focussed on preventing self-sown seedlings from damaging graves, especially in the Gum Gully area. This will be a multi year undertaking. To date we have planted renga renga lilies and are just beginning the mid-storey layer of natives plants.
We participate as stakeholders in the quarterly community hui.
