Lesson in urban ‘eeling’ for students

Ecologists have got their hands on some slippery characters in need of a new waterway.

Students from Te Waka Unua, Linwood College and Kimihia Parents College have also got close to the action during the removal of about 26 shortfin eels from a Woolston drain – to make way for the development of an urban forest – during a unique lesson in “urban eeling”.

As infrastructure for the urban forest takes root in the former lower fields of Linwood College, the eels’ old home is being diverted.

Work to redirect the timber-lined Arran Drain will intercept the base flow, so the eels – ranging from less than 250 millimetres to greater than 500mm long – have had to slip into a new site.

“Native fish and their spawning habitats are legally protected, so we have to take great care not to harm fish when doing any works around waterways,” Council waterways ecologist Greg Burrell said.

“Several shortfin eels were found during a survey of the section of Arran Drain affected by the wetland construction. They are among our most hardy and better climbing native fish species, which is why they’re able to navigate over 300 metres of piped network to get into Arran Drain.

“Electric fishing, which does not harm the fish, was used to stun and catch all the eels in preparation for their move to a new home.”

After the drain dwellers were drawn from their hidey-holes, the eels were captured in a hand net and placed in buckets before being released into another section of the Bells Creek system.

Temporary fences will prevent new eels from slithering into the old site.

“Once the works are complete, eels that migrate up the pipe into Arran Drain will find themselves in a newly created forested habitat that will be a major improvement on their previous home.”

The urban forest, off Ferry Road, is a key element in the $9 million Bells Creek flood mitigation scheme, utilising the earthquake-damaged school fields.

Thousands of native trees and plants will be planted on the now Council-owned site, which will also act as a storage basin, reducing the frequency and severity of flooding.

Eventually, the 2.75-hectare forest will again ring with native birdsong, attracting bellbird, kereru, fantail and tui amid totara, matai and kahikatea trees. It will be a base for native bush birds swooping between Riccarton Bush, Travis Wetland and the Styx River Reserve network and the Port Hills reserves.

A sealed pathway and boardwalk bridges will guide the community on an exploratory journey into the urban wilderness.

Eels are on the move to a new home.