Lake Te Anau is to get a spring clean by the local community in a ‘Lakeshore clean-up event’ hosted by the Department of Conservation (DOC), set to take place on Tuesday, July 7. 

Event organiser and DOC Te Anau community ranger Crystal Brindle said the Fiordland community, Fiordland College students and local businesses would all come together to clean up the south end of the lake “above and below the water”.

“It’s the first time DOC have done an event like this [in Te Anau] before,” she said.

It was also the first community event that DOC in Fiordland had been able to host since the Alert Level 4 lockdown.

Miss Brindle said Descend Scuba Diving NZ, which usually operates scuba diving tours in Milford Sound, would be diving below the surface of the lake to pick up any rubbish and ensure Freshwater Sponges (an animal that lives at the bottom the lake) were free of any harmful debris. 

“There’s actually a lot wildlife below [the surface] which we don’t really think about,” Ms Brindle said. 

Fiordland Jet and Fiordland Outdoors Company, which operate the Kepler water taxi, would be lending their boats and some skippers for the day to transport volunteers across the lake to Brod Bay to cover more ground by cleaning up on the South-West side of the lake. 

Fiordland College students would be also on site with an underwater, self-driving rover, which they built last year.

This would provide the opportunity for those not diving to see beneath the surface as well.

The clean-up event begins at 10am and runs until 3pm with a barbecue lunch provided in the middle from 12 until 1pm. 

“A lot of people have shown interest already. I’ve had tonnes of emails from people saying they’re keen. We are not requiring pre-registration for the event so I’m not sure how many people will be coming on the day; but people have been really excited [so far].

Miss Brindle said the only hurdle now was to make sure she bought the right amount of sausages.

If you would like to get involved in the community and learn about that fresh water that surrounds Te Anau then DOC encourages you to come along on to the Te Anau marina on Tuesday July 7. 

Lake Te Anau clean-up:

Te Anau Marina

Tuesday July 7

10am-3pm (Barbecue lunch provided from 12pm-1pm).

If the event is postponed due to bad weather, it will take place will be on Tuesday, July 14, instead. 

world that surrounds our town. BBQ LUNCH PROVIDED!