Climate Change - Water Trail

Kia ora!

Auckland Botanic Gardens now incorporates sustainable stormwater management in our landscape projects wherever possible. As a result, much of our stormwater is treated on-site, often by devices that use plants to treat the water.

Stormwater is a hot topic! Roads, driveways, footpaths and roofs do not absorb rainwater, it flows over them. Typically this water is collected and piped away to be released untreated into streams, waterways and the sea. This can cause lots of problems. But there are solutions.

As the Unted Nations has stated: Climate change is primarily a water crisis. We feel its impacts through worsening floods, rising sea levels, shrinking ice fields, wildfires and droughts.

Sustainable water management is central to building the resilience of societies and ecosystems and to reducing carbon emissions. Everyone has a role to play – actions at the individual and household levels are vital.

Auckland Botanic Gardens has been affected by contaminated storm water in the past and has found ways to combat it. Water is a vital factor that plays a massive role in the success of our gardens. It is important for us to make sensible decisions when it comes to water management. Not only to reduce the outcome of untreated stormwater run-off making its way into the Puhinui Stream, but to keep our unique ecosystem flourishing in good health. Through our experience in finding ways to treat our own contaminated water, we would like to share with you what worked to inspire your sustainable water management journey.

Follow the trail and explore the facinating world of sustainable water managment. Share the information you learnt today with your family and friends. Together we can all be sustainability champions.