On-Farm Environmental Support

WAI Wānaka’s On-Farm Environmental Support Programme has funding available to support landowners to achieve their environmental goals.

This programme is funded through the Ministry of Primary Industry’s Catchment Extension Services Programme.

Programme objectives:

• Support Landowners to improve freshwater and biodiversity outcomes across the Upper Clutha.
• Support the coordination of activities to increase the effectiveness of work undertaken.
• Supporting the adoption of best practice and knowledge sharing.
• Support environmental initiatives identified through catchment groups and integrated farm planning.

The funding is available through until 30th of June 2026 and can be used to subsidise contractors to undertake environmental work on farm.

Planting

The planting of natives and ecological restoration projects creates habitats for a wide range of species, protects the soil from erosion, enhances biodiversity and provides shelter.

The funding supports planting plans and planting for ecological restoration, riparian planting and native planting.

Plant Maintenance

Maintaining planting sites though adding protectors, clearing weeds and mulching can drastically improve survival and growth rates.

The funding can be used to subsidise plant maintenance of recent planting sites.

Biodiversity Monitoring

Freshwater and biodiversity monitoring helps landowners to track changes over time to make decisions based on data to protect and improve biodiversity within the farm.

Biodiversity monitoring includes stream health assessments, visual soil assessments, bird counts, vegetation photo points and eDNA testing.

Fencing

The fencing of riparian zones, wetlands and stock exclusion have numerous benefits including improving water quality, reducing nutrient runoff and sediment in our waterways, reducing erosion of stream banks, and enhancing habitats.

The funding support’s the fencing of riparian zones, wetlands, new planting sites, fencing for stock exclusion and rabbit fencing.

Pest Plant Control

Pest plant control helps to reduce the spread of emerging weed species and minimises the loss of native biodiversity through weeds outcompeting natives.

The funding can support weed control of pest plants which are classified as pest species.

Animal Pest Control

Animal pest control is essential for protecting native plants, enhancing native biodiversity and reducing the spread of disease.

The funding supports landowners in the control of rabbits, possums, stoats and ferrets. The funding can be utilised to support the coordination and planning of control operations, rabbit proof fencing and control of pests through the use of pindone or trapping.

Catchment Group Support

Community led catchment groups enable people with like-minded goals to come together and create positive change for the environment. It provides opportunity to create catchment wide plans, share knowledge and benefit from collective efforts.

WAI can support Farm Leads of catchment groups with coordination and facilitation so groups can progress faster to achieving their goals.