In December 1999 we approached a neighbour farmer grazing sheep and bulls on boggy land adjacent to our home. It was obvious that our very wet home paddock and the adajcent land would be an ideal site for wetlands. The neighbouring property had regenerating kahikatea (NZ white pine) on one boggy block (kahikatea block) and a large flowing spring on another that could supply water for a large pond or dam (damsite block). Fortunately we were able to purchase the land and on 18 January 2001 the title was transferred to the then newly formed Gordon and Anne Pilone Charitable Trust. Four trustees manage the development of the wetlands.

We hope to encourage the visiting and breeding of a variety of birds and this will be documented in our birdlife folder. Birdlife will be encouraged by the planting of native grasses, bushes and trees displayed in our plantlife folder.

One of the first jobs was to fence the property to keep out the neighbour's bulls and sheep so that 'mother nature' could get underway and re-establish some of the remnant vegetation with a little help from Gordon and Anne and friends of the wetlands. Fencing the boundary to keep out the bulls and sheep was completed in May 2002.

The creation of ponds in the home, kahikatea and damsite blocks was a long-term project started in September 2001 and completed in March 2006, although planting and maintenence continues. Activities in these blocks can be viewed in the wetlands folder.