More about estuaries

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For iwi, hapū and whānau

• Straw bales as temporary inanga spawning habitat – download our te reo guide to use straw bales to find the places where inanga spawn in your area.
• Ngā Waihotanga Iho – iwi estuarine monitoring toolkit to help tangata whenua measure environmental changes in their estuaries.
• Māori environmental performance indicators for wetland condition and trend (PDF, 437K).
• Manaaki Taha Moana – enhancing Coastal Ecosystems for Iwi (with Tauranga and Horowhenua case studies).
• State of the Takiwā Te Āhuatanga o Te Ihutai (PDF, 6.538K) – cultural health assessment of the Avon-Heathcote estuary and its catchment.
• Iwi estuarine indicators for Nelson report (PDF, 1,387K) – prepared by Landcare Research for Nelson City Council, to provide technical advise and expertise on cultural monitoring tools for estuarine areas.
• Natural resource and environmental iwi management plan for Murihiku/Southland – developed by Ngāi Tahu ki Murihiku in 2008.
• Ngā Aroturukitanga tika mō ngā Kaitiaki (PDF, 1,504K) – summary review of mātauranga Māori frameworks, approaches, and culturally appropriate monitoring tools for management of mahinga kai.
• Te Uri o Hau Framework and Model – Kaipara – bicultural tools for biodiversity measurement and monitoring.
• He Mahere Pāhekoheko Mō - Integrated Kaipara Harbour management – framework of comanagement to connect and utilize indigenous Māori values and knowledge alongside principles of ecosystem-based management.

Identification guides

Guide to the common animals and plants living on sandy and muddy seashores:

• English:  North Island (PDF, 2,530K) and South Island (PDF, 2,460K).
• Māori: North Island (PDF, 1,450K) and South Island (PDF, 1,370K).

See also the experiencing estuaries map for guides and resources specific to a location.

Education resources

• Protecting our Estuaries – DOC resource for students to learn about and protect our unique estuarine environments (Levels: 1–4)
• Estuary survey – DOC resource to carry out an estuary survey and learn about the local marine environment.
• Harbours, bays and estuaries – DOC resource that introduces students to species that depend on estuaries (like cockles, snapper and whitebait) via interviews with three scientists
• NIWA teaching and student resources.
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See also the experiencing estuaries map for guides and resources specific to a location.

Monitoring estuaries

Resources to help you plan monitoring and restoration in your own special places:

• Land Air Water Aotearoa – detailed information on freshwater and coastal water quality data from around the country.
• iNaturalist NZ – Mātaki Taiao is a global database of observations of the natural world. 
• Marine Metre Squared Project – project encouraging long term monitoring of marine environments by providing easy ways to get involved including guides and data sheets for sandy and muddy shores.
• eBird – contribute to science and conservation by recording the birds you see on these interactive maps, plus see all other sightings.
• Rivers Network – an open resource with best practice ideas for river management from all over the world.

Restoring estuaries

• Experiencing estuariesNature Space –  a wealth of resources to support community restoration efforts.
• National Riparian Restoration Database – for citizen scientists 
• Riparian Planner – DairyNZ tool to create a riparian management plan to fence, plant and protect waterways.
• Turning the Tide – comprehensive toolkit to help communities restore and monitor estuaries.
• Restoring shellfish beds to harbours and estuaries (PDF, 985K) – NIWA guide for community groups undertaking a shellfish restoration project.
• How to start, improve or evaluate a conservation project – guidelines, funding and best practice.

• DOC harbours, bays and estuaries teaching resource – cockles, snapper and whitebait (galaxiids) are some of the fascinating fish and shellfish that depend on estuaries.
• NIWA teaching and student resources.

Poster

• Download a poster (PDF, 1.340K) about 'Our Estuaries'.