November 26, 2021

Christmas River Wish List

Christmas River Wishlist

Christmas! Holidays, sun, food and, of course, presents!  Who does not like receiving gifts?  Just the acts of giving and receiving, irrespective of the item, are in themselves important parts of the whole message of Christmas.

What to give someone is often a difficult question; something that is indicative of that person’s need, interests or desires is much the ideal, but it must also be within budget, available and tasteful.  It helps immeasurably if there is a wish list to guide the gift selection, although that too can be difficult to navigate. However, best to say what you would like and leave it to the gifter to make a selection.

And why should our river not join in the pleasures of Christmas?  It gives to us all year round – beauty, nurture, life – so it is certainly overdue for a gift from each of us.

So here’s a Christmas wish list that the Ōpāwaho Heathcote River has provided: you may like to consider it amongst your festive activities.

The River’s Christmas Wish List

  • Water – seems a bit obvious that I would want water.  But not just any water, please; I would like more pure, artesian water from the springs in my headwaters around Halswell.  Too much of the artesian water that should be flowing from those springs is being extracted for irrigation inland.  Also, there is too much nitrate in the spring water that I am currently getting.  That’s the result of intensive farming practices on the plains. Reduce it, please.  
  • No more Sediment – I’m sick of it!  It clogs me up, stifles the habitat of the life that need gravel beds to live in, brings horrid soluble chemicals into the water, and reduces visibility in the water.  Please, no more sediment from the Cashmere Valley, the Hoon Hay Valley or the Worsley Valley.  The soil up there on the hills is loess which is really, really fine: it takes weeks to come out of suspension. Help plant the hills!
  • Shade – lots of it, please!  Not only does it keep my waters cool, which keeps me oxygenated and a great place for macrobiotic life, but people enjoy sitting beneath large trees on my riverbanks.  Please plant lots of trees and grasses on my banks to give me shade.
  • Brake pads – sounds silly, but one of the things that poisons me is copper from brake pad dust.  So, please give the person who looks after your car some copper-free brake pads.  They are about the same price, and I love not having copper killing the life in me.
  • A painted roof – another gift that sounds silly but zinc dissolving in the rainwater from roofs that are not painted, or which need painting, also kills the life in me.  So, by painting your zinc-plated roof, you gift me fresher rainwater.
  • Native plants and grasses – You can’t give me too many!  Not in me, of course, but along my banks to filter the stormwater, shade my water and keep dogs away from me.
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