Kumutoto Restoration Project

Ma te awa e arahi - The river will lead the way

The Kumutoto Restoration Project is a community-led initiative focused on revitalising the Kumutoto Awa (stream) in Pōneke (Wellington), New Zealand. We aim to restore the stream's health, improve the ecological integrity of the area, and reconnect the community with the stream's cultural and historical significance. 
The Kumutoto Awa has its headwaters close to Victoria University, then flows down Salamanca Road, under the Terrace and into Wellington Harbour at Queens Wharf.  It is a wāhi tūpuna - a place important to Māori for its ancestral significance and associated cultural and traditional values and its name references it as a place where babies were born. 
We are building a self-guided audio tour, tracing the stream's path. Participants will learn about our city’s history, the settlement of Pōneke, the role freshwater streams played in the growth of the city and the consequences of burying the streams in pipes and separating the people from their water. It will be educational, interesting, fun and able to be experienced in a single lunchtime.  
We are also restoring the small bush remnant and the above-ground section of stream that remains at Kumutoto Forest, improving habitat by planting and carrying out pest control. This is where the walking tour will end, and will provide a place for reflection, learning and a point of nature connection for people living and working in the inner city. 

The project envisions future initiatives such as restoring epiphytes, creating lizard habitat, and potentially "day-lighting" the stream's mouth (revealing the stream where it currently runs through a pipe).

 “Kia whakatōmuri te haere whakamua” - By understanding our past we can make more informed decisions about our future.

Wellington City Rising Star Winner - Wellington Airport Regional Community Awards 2025
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