Hurricane Hugh Renton traded his rugby boots for a pair of gummies last week when he joined Tui Brewery staff as part of an exciting new initiative to protect Mangatainoka's natural waterways and environment.

The clean-up was part of DB Breweries' efforts to recognise and highlight the United Nation's World Water Day, which takes place annually on March 22, and those who took part spent the day collecting rubbish, weeding, painting and fencing.

DB's Commercial and Marketing Manager Nick Rogers said the clean-up had a been a huge collaborative effort, and it was great to have Renton join in the fun.

"We're really happy to be taking positive action to protect our local waterways and shine a light on the importance of operating in a sustainable way," said Mr Rogers.

"With the support of staff, Horizons, and Hugh, we've made some significant progress today. The Mangatainoka rest area was cleaned up with rubbish removed and recycled; the picnic table repaired and re-painted, and we completed preparation works on the stop bank for later planting of native trees."

In addition, the team removed undesirable water weeds from a small tributary of the river and built a fish pass under the culvert for native fish species, which will open up more habitat upstream. DB is also donating more than 350 native trees to Horizons to enable the completion of the stream bank planting in the coming months.

Along with DB, the Hurricanes hope to mark World Water Day annually.