Wildlife part of rebuild work
While the rebuild teams work furiously to repair the physical damage from last year’s earthquake to Kaiko¯ura’s coastline, a dedicated team has been focused on helping the area’s wildlife recover.
North Canterbury Transport Infrastructure Recovery environmental manager Manea Sweeney runs the team looking after wildlife and habitat.
With the imminent reopening of the coastal highway, people would notice changes, especially at the Ohau seal sanctuary, Sweeney said.
‘‘The slips came a long way out into the coastal marine areas and we had to build the road out in to that area.
‘‘One of the biggest shocks to people will be the change in the natural environment from the earthquake itself. Those hillsides that have been cleared will be quite significant.’’
Coastal uplift from the earthquake has provided more habitat in places, and seals are finding new homes.
While seal numbers are still unknown, Sweeney said there are still a lot of seals.
‘‘We’re placing rocks at the base of the seawalls, making it a more natural environment and getting their homes ready to move back again.
‘‘We’re seeing seals moving further north so in the future there may be other locations where people can stop and see them.’’
Although work had been focused on the coast between Oaro and Clarence, the team was working on other projects further south and o¯ north of Kaiko¯ura, and overseeing work around streams and culverts on the Inland Rd.
Native fish were being caught and relocated as streams and rivers were diverted to allow work to be done on bridges and culverts.
Since the start of the bird breeding season, the team have been busy looking after banded dotterels, pied stilts and oyster catchers. Even the endangered mountain Hutton’s Shearwater is catered for, and night workers face their lights downwards so the birds are not distracted.
‘‘Our guys have a strong affiliation to the environment where they have been working. Environmental management at this scale has never been done before in a large infrastructure project over such a large geographical area,’’ said Sweeney.