As part of our term 2 inquiry, Room 5 and 4 are focussing on our community. We are looking who and what is in our community, the history of our community, our present day community and will eventually look forward to what we can do for our community.

On Thursday 2nd May, we visited Ōruapaeroa-Travis Wetland.  Ōruapaeroa-Travis Wetland is the last large freshwater wetland in Otautahi Christchurch.

Otautahi Christchurch is built on a mix of old gravel beds from the Waimakariri River, sand dunes and wetland areas. Over the years these wetlands have been drained and filled to make the land suitable for housing and farming.

This development means that today only two per cent of the original wetlands in the Otautahi Christchurch area remain. This is why this area is very important as a habitat for native wetland plants and birds and has considerable educational value by showing residents and visitors to Christchurch what the city used to be like.

This wetland is like a time capsule, showing us what Christchurch used to be like before it was built up. It's really cool because it's right in the middle of an urban area, and in our community. Imagine, Christchurch was once a swamp, and places like Travis Wetland help us remember that.