Tree planting at Waitahuna

On Tuesday the 16 of May we went to go to plant some plants, and it was fun because we got to plant some flaxes. We had fun because we got to practice planting. We left school at 9.30, and we got back at 12.30. We went to see the fish, and it was fun. We went to waitahuna River on Nick’s farm. We had to dig a hole, then we took the plant out of the black bag, and we put it into the hole. Then we covered the hole with the mashed up dirt, and we stepped on the plant so that the wind wouldn’t blow it out. We wanted to help the fish and the eels, that live in the Waitahuna River to have a better, healthier environment to live in. The flaxes help the eels to hide, they stop the river banks from sliding into the river by making them strong, and they provide somewhere for the insects to live. Planting flaxes now will make the river a better environment for a long time. We got into a group with three children and one adult to dig our holes and plant our flaxes. The two classes planted about 200 flax bushes while we were there. 1,000 plants were planted in total. While we were there, Keiran showed us an eel that he had caught in a net that he had set overnight. He also showed electric fishing, which is where you use an electric current to stun the fish, so that they can catch them and look at them more closely. He told us that the bigger the fish, the more effect the electric shock would have on them. He showed us a brown trout and a lamprey eel that he had caught earlier. Lamprey eels are very rare, and it was the first one Keiran had ever seen. They are an ancient fish, sometimes called a ‘ sucker eel’ because they don’t have jaw they just suck.