The overall goal of Thomsons Catchment Project was to increase the numbers of galaxiid, a rare native fish, through use of fish barriers, wetland riparian planting and fencing — to be followed up by fish monitoring.
Thomsons Creek Wetland project manager Nicola McGrouther said World Wetlands Day was a great opportunity to mark the end of the first phase of the wetland construction.
About 35 people were in attendance — "a whole mix"— including Central Otago District Mayor Tim Cadogan and ORC councillor Kevin Malcolm, who both spoke at the event, Ms McGrouther said.
"We had people that had been involved in the project and then we had completely new people that had just seen it advertised."
The five-hectare constructed wetland had more than 41,000 established plants and, in less than a year, had become home to rare birds and native fish.
The plant growth in the wetland had been incredible and she was pleased to see they were well established, she said.
