The valley is a coastal area in southern Te Whanganui-a-Tara (Wellington), within the rohe of Te Āti Awa and Taranaki Whānui. Haewai, the Te Reo Māori name for Houghton Valley, can mean “light reflecting on water,” “breaking waves,” or “cutting through water,” depending on weather and context. The valley once ran with the waters of a small creek that flowed into the bay, home to many forms of life,  including the tuna (native freshwater eels, as the word means in Te Reo Māori). In the 1900s, however, the area was used as a city rubbish tip and the creek was buried and diverted underground. In recent decades, community-led restoration efforts in Aotearoa have brought life back to the valley, including and return of native birds across both islands.

At dawn, the valley now rings with the distinctive calls of Tūī, known for their unique melodic song and clicks, and the open part of the stream is a favourite haunt of the little Pīwakawaka (fantails) who hop in the waters and zip around the site at great speed.

The audio site for the Reveil stream is from what the community affectionately call the teapot stream: running water populated with freshwater crayfish that then runs into the storm drain and underneath the wetlands out to the sea. The community is working together to “lift the creek” and heal this layered landscape.

For ecologies.fm, Lucas Putnam and Kate Genevieve, local to Haewai, will stream by the stream from before dawn, with thanks to Grant Corbishley and Jenny Rattenbury for research and sharing knowledge of the area, with an invitation to locals to listen and share their perceptions of the dawn that Sunday morning.

 https://www.houghtonvalley.org.nz