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Map an awa restoration project

Research question: Where is restoration happening along an awa, how do teams reach the work, and what changes are visible between field visits?

Useful for: hapū/iwi taiao teams, marae restoration projects, catchment groups, kaitiaki and GIS practitioners supporting environmental mahi.

What you will produce​

  • a catchment-context map
  • a restoration-area GeoPackage layer
  • a stable monitoring-site structure
  • a repeat field-observation table
  • a field map
  • a progress map for hui/reporting
  • a source/provenance register

Working structure​

Create three project tables rather than downloading a synthetic teaching pack. The useful pattern is one stable monitoring site linked to many visits over time.

TableUse
restoration_areasStructure restoration polygons, work type, status and checking dates.
monitoring_sitesMaintain stable site IDs and site-level information.
repeat_observationsRecord repeated visits without creating a new unrelated site each time.

Use these structures for the actual restoration mahi and populate them from project records and field observations.

Source and checking​

For catchments, river networks, imagery and environmental context, retain source organisation, dataset name, date/version, purpose and limitation. For project observations, keep stable site IDs and visit dates so derived progress summaries can be traced back to the source records.

Use Provenance and source checking. Keep measured or observed information separate from interpretation of ecological or cultural condition.

Step 1: start with the awa and catchment​

Add the river network and catchment before parcels. An awa project is easier to understand when upstream/downstream relationships remain visible.

Use an authoritative river/catchment source appropriate to the question. MāoriGIS.nz covers REC2 and catchments and other taiao data.

Choose one working catchment extent and clip large contextual datasets to it.

Step 2: add imagery and terrain​

Use current aerial imagery to understand vegetation, access and visible channel context. Add hillshade or DEM-derived slope where terrain affects access, erosion or restoration design.

Record imagery capture date rather than assuming the basemap is current everywhere.

Step 3: create restoration areas​

Create a GeoPackage polygon layer restoration_areas with:

restoration_id
work_type
start_date
status
area_ha
lead_team
last_checked
notes

Use synthetic polygons if you are completing the exercise without project data. Keep the IDs stable across years.

Step 4: separate sites from visits​

Long-term monitoring works better when a site and a visit are separate records.

One site_id can have many observations:

SITE-001
  ├─ 2026-02-14 observation
  ├─ 2026-05-20 observation
  └─ 2026-08-12 observation

Maintain a monitoring_sites table and a separate repeat_observations table linked by site_id. This lets QGIS, a database or reporting tool compare condition through time without creating unrelated points on every visit.

Step 5: collect field information​

Use QField, KoboToolbox, Field Maps or Survey123 according to the project's existing environment.

A compact repeat observation can include:

  • site_id
  • visit date/time
  • work/condition category
  • simple measurement where the programme uses one
  • photograph reference
  • GPS accuracy where location is remeasured
  • notes

Do not add fields simply because the form tool offers them. Collect what the project will actually review.

Step 6: map access separately from environmental condition​

Create access points/tracks needed by the field team, but do not let access roads and parcel lines dominate the taiao map.

For a field version, access can be prominent. For a hui progress map, the awa, tributaries, restoration areas and monitoring status may deserve the stronger visual hierarchy.

Step 7: relate observations back to sites​

In QGIS, use a one-to-many relation between monitoring_sites.site_id and repeat_observations.site_id or use a join/summary process appropriate to the output.

Do not flatten a long monitoring history into a single last_note field if the time series matters.

Step 8: create a progress summary​

Useful derived fields or summaries include:

  • last visit date
  • number of visits
  • current condition category
  • work status
  • days since last check

Keep the original observation table. A progress summary is derived data, not the source record.

Step 9: produce two maps​

Field map​

Prioritise:

  • access
  • monitoring sites
  • restoration-area IDs
  • offline imagery/topography where available
  • operational labels

Hui/progress map​

Prioritise:

  • awa and tributaries
  • catchment
  • restoration areas
  • progress categories
  • selected photographs or notes outside the map frame
  • source/capture dates

Quality checks​

  • Awa and catchment are visible as the environmental framework.
  • Every restoration area has a stable ID.
  • Site and visit records are separate.
  • Observation dates are real date fields rather than ambiguous text.
  • Imagery date is recorded.
  • Derived progress status can be traced back to observations.
  • Parcel data is used as context rather than as the definition of the awa.
  • Field photographs can be traced to site and visit IDs.

What the result means​

The GIS shows where the project is working and what the monitoring records say over time. It can help coordinate field work, communicate progress and combine local observations with national or council environmental data.

It does not by itself establish ecological cause, cultural health, legal responsibility or the effectiveness of a restoration intervention. Those interpretations require the monitoring design and wider kaupapa.

Continue with Awa, wetlands, coast and moana, Investigating an awa, Field GIS and Taiao data.

Last reviewed: 4 September 2026

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