Understanding our land: WAI Wānaka’s on-farm Environmental Monitoring Programme
Across the Upper Clutha, farmers are taking a closer look at the natural systems that support their land, from the soil beneath their feet to the streams that flow through their properties. WAI Wanaka’s on-farm environmental monitoring programme helps them do it.
The programme is supported by the Ministry for Primary Industries through the Catchment Extension Services Fund and supports national priorities around environmental performance, farm resilience, and evidence-based decision making. Monitoring is carried out annually. While some properties now have up to three years of data, most have two years, which is steadily building a baseline picture of how ecosystems are functioning.
What does monitoring involve?
The programme uses a small set of simple, consistent tools. Each is repeated the same way every year.
Vegetation photo points
Under guidance and direction from the landowners, the team establish fixed photo points and take photos from the same location, angle, and direction each year, recording details so they can be repeated consistently. The same photograph is taken from the same spot every year, building a visual record of how vegetation and stream margins respond to planting, grazing, and restoration. It is a simple way for a farmer to see the results of their own work, and to show others what that work has achieved.
Bird counts
Birds seen or heard during monitoring are recorded along with species, number, time, and location. 5-min bird counts are the standard method developed initially however in a farm environment it is difficult to capture meaningful data in a 5-min window due to clustered or fragmented habitat. The 5-min bird count method was developed primarily for a forested habitat and so the team had to iterate and adapt the method to capture meaningful data. This provides a snapshot of birdlife across the property.
Birds are reliable indicators of ecosystem condition, reflecting habitat quality, vegetation, and pest pressure. Over time, patterns emerge that can show how farm practices, development of habitat corridors (riparian and terrestrial) and pest control are influencing bird populations. New technologies such as Cacophony AI bird-song recorders are in development and offer a practical solution to time constraints in bird monitoring on farm as the technology becomes more refined and accessible.
Soil health (visual soil assessments)
Soil health is assessed using Visual Soil Assessment (VSA) (Shepard, 2000), where a 200mm x 200mm block of topsoil is lifted and indicators such as structure, porosity, moisture, and earthworm activity are visually scored. This is often combined with routine soil testing for attributes like pH and nutrient load done by farm consultants, agronomists or fertiliser companies.
Together, these measurements show how well soils are functioning. Healthy soils improve water infiltration, reduce runoff and erosion, and support biological activity, which is useful information when weighing decisions on stocking rates and rotation, fertiliser use, and cropping rotations.
Environmental DNA (eDNA) monitoring
eDNA sampling involves collecting a water sample and sending it to Wilderlab for analysis. Organisms leave traces of DNA in the water, allowing us to identify what species are present across roughly 600m upstream. Results are summarised using species lists and an ecological score, the Taxon-Independent Community Index (TICI). This provides a fast, non-invasive way to detect biodiversity, including species that are hard to see, helping to track changes over time and identify potential environmental pressures.
Aquatic health
Following National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) stream health monitoring and assessment kit (SHMAK) guidelines, aquatic monitoring includes several components:
- Site health check – a visual assessment of obstructions, sediment, stream margins, and noting any smells.
→ Provides a quick snapshot of stream condition and highlights obvious signs of stress or pollution. - Physiochemical attributes – measurements of temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, conductivity and flow are taken using a YSI multi-parameter sonde, flow meter and turbidity meter.
→ Describes the water’s condition on the day and flag questions worth investigating, rather than diagnosing a cause on their own. - Periphyton assessment – estimates algae or cyanobacteria cover on the beds of streams and rivers.
→ Periphyton is a natural part of a healthy stream and becomes a problem only when it proliferates, which nutrient enrichment and changes in flow can encourage. - Streambed composition – estimating the proportion of materials like sand, gravel, and cobbles at multiple points.
→ Shows habitat variability and substrate proportions; more diverse streambeds support more diverse life, while large quantities of fine sediment and sand can reduce habitat suitability for sensitive aquatic species like mayflies. - Macroinvertebrate communities – collecting stream insects (see image below) using a kick net by disturbing the stream bed, sweeping vegetation, and sampling stones, then identifying them to calculate indices like Macroinvertebrate Community Index (MCI) and percentage of Ephemeroptera (mayflies), Plecoptera (stoneflies), and Trichoptera (caddisflies) (%EPT) (Stark & Maxted, 2007).
→ Provides a longer-term view of stream condition. The MCI combines species and their tolerance to pollution into a single score (from poor to excellent), while %EPT measures the proportion of sensitive species (mayflies, stoneflies, and caddisflies) with higher values indicating healthier streams. - Physical habitat assessment – visually scoring features such as banks, vegetation, flow types, and sediment
→ Records the physical setting that helps make sense of the other results, such as bank erosion upstream explaining a high turbidity reading.
Together, these tools build a baseline and, repeated year on year, give farmers a clear understanding of how ecosystems on their land are functioning and how they are changing over time. Change reflects many things, including rainfall, temperature, and flow as well as management, so the data describes trends and raises questions rather than pointing fingers.
Why does this monitoring matter?
At its core, this programme is about giving farmers evidence: data that reinforces what they already understand about their land and backs the decisions they make on it.
Monitoring helps farmers:
- Understand how their farming practices interact with waterways and biodiversity
- Track environmental change over time
- Identify where to focus environmental stewardship effort – including fencing, planting and pest control, where it matters most
- Plan farm and environmental work with confidence, backed by their own data
- Build confidence in data driving decision making for ongoing farm and environmental planning
- Reinforces their understanding of their land and how their farm systems are working with the environment?
The same data is increasingly useful beyond the farm gate. It supports:
- Farm Assurance Programmes (FAPs) – these are voluntary certification programmes that independently check farms are meeting recognised standards for things like food safety, animal welfare, environmental management, and traceability. For consumers, this helps build trust that food is being produced responsibly.
- Freshwater Farm Plans – these are practical plans that prepare farmers for future regulation by identifying risks to waterways and set practical actions to manage them
- Regulatory preparedness – environmental regulations are continuing to evolve. Having solid monitoring data means farmers already understand their environmental performance before requirements change rather than after.
- Access to markets that value environmental performance – both domestic and international markets are increasingly favouring products that can demonstrate strong environmental credentials. Monitoring provides the evidence behind this.
- Telling their own story – with evidence rather than assertion
Together, these outcomes support a resilient and productive primary sector, where farmers hold the tools, data, and confidence to meet environmental and market expectations on their own terms, and to be leaders in their districts.
A catchment-wide effort
This work doesn’t happen in isolation. Monitoring runs across five local catchment groups; Luggate, Lake Wānaka, Maungawera, Lake Hāwea, and Cardrona. These groups are made up of farmers and landowners within the same catchment, people connected by the waterways and landscapes they share, working together to care for the environment they’re part of.
Participation in monitoring is completely voluntary. Farmers choose to be involved and open their gates for data to be collected, which reflects a real commitment to understanding their land and to something bigger than any single farm.
In 2025/26, 28 properties took part, highlighting both strong engagement and a growing momentum across the catchment.
Connecting to the bigger picture
This work directly contributes to the wider Upper Clutha Biodiversity Strategy, which emphasises evidence-based decision-making, supporting landowners to protect and enhance biodiversity, improving freshwater health, and helping people understand and value biodiversity as necessary natural infrastructure.
By collecting consistent data across farms, the programme builds knowledge, confidence, and capability within the farming community. It reinforces farmers understanding of the natural systems on their land and supports continued stewardship, while bridging the gap between individual farm actions and landscape-scale outcomes. It also supports national goals to sustain food and fibre production alongside the natural resources that underpin it.
Looking ahead
The early results are only the beginning. As the datasets grow the programme will strengthen long-term trend tracking, support more targeted on-farm actions, deepen collaboration across catchments, and help farmers tell their environmental story with confidence.
It also shows something worth holding onto productive farming and a healthy environment are not in conflict. They can work together. Over time, this work contributes to a more resilient and adaptable farming sector, aligned with New Zealand’s long-term direction for the primary industries.
References
National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research. (2025). Stream Health Monitoring and Assessment Kit (SHMAK): Chapter 3: The monitoring indicators. NIWA. https://niwa.co.nz/sites/default/files/2025-05/SHMAK_Chapter%203_May-2025-NIWA.pdf
Shepherd, T. G. (2000). Visual soil assessment: Volume 1. Field guide for cropping and pastoral grazing on flat to rolling country. horizons.mw & Landcare Research. https://www.agribusiness.school.nz/pluginfile.php/44204/mod_folder/content/0/Visual%20Soil%20Structure%20Assessment%28R%29.pdf
SHMAK. (n.d.). SHMAK data sheet [Data collection form]. https://niwa.co.nz/sites/default/files/SHMAK%20Data%20Sheet_0.pdf
Stark, J. D., & Maxted, J. R. (2007). A user guide for the Macroinvertebrate Community Index. Cawthron Institute. Cawthron Report No. 1166. Prepared for the Ministry for the Environment. https://environment.govt.nz/assets/Publications/Files/mci-user-guide-may07.pdf