Rural update February 2023
The field team continues to be busy with plant maintenance and watering, with some rabbit netting for variety.
A reminder to those landowners looking to carry out any planting in the Autumn that the field team is available to help with planning and planting. Get in touch so we can discuss your project and schedule in the team.
The team are also completing their rural pest control certificate through the Primary ITO and will complete NMIT Bird Count training in early March to upskill ahead of biodiversity & monitoring work on farm in Autumn. If you’re interested in carrying out monitoring on your property, see here for more info.
Many of you will be aware that our Jobs for Nature funding ends on June 30th this year. Prue will be in touch with landowners through catchment group meetings and individually to discuss work you have in the pipeline and how we can support you beyond Jobs for Nature.
UPCOMING EVENTS
NZFAP Plus Workshop next week
Our NZ FAP Plus workshop is next Tuesday! If you are interested, please register by Friday so that we can ensure we can cater for you all.
Wānaka A&P Show
Come and visit us at the Wānaka A&P Show on the 10th -11th of March. This year the WAI Wānaka team will be spread across two locations. We have a great display and lots of activities to do in the Our Place tent, plus the Knowledge into Action for Te Taiao team will be in the Our Land and Water tent with a range of information for landowners and managers. It will be a great opportunity to come and have a chat to the team, we look forward to seeing you there!
UPDATES
Catchment Wide Monitoring
WAI Wānaka is working with EAS and the local community to develop a catchment wide monitoring system to monitor key environmental and social indicators throughout the catchment. We think it’s important for this project to be a community led initiative, with a whole catchment approach so that we can monitor the long-term impact of community efforts and so we can use it to guide us in environmental investment in the future. The aims of the catchment wide monitoring system are to:
- Communicate qualitative and quantitative data on the state of catchment health.
- Align monitored indicators to the community catchment plan and sustainable development goals (SDG’s).
- Develop a central repository for data collection and reporting.
- Encourage community ownership and responsibility for overall catchment health.
- Set up a reporting system which is enduring and repeatable.
We are in the process of setting up a steering group which represents all the stakeholders and community interests. The role of the steering group will be to guide us on understanding what’s important for the community, provide advice throughout the project on monitoring indicators and data collection and on the reporting framework of the project.
We need some members from the rural community to join the steering group, if you would like to be involved in the steering group, please email Prue.
Environmental Planning for Small Farms
This week we ran an ‘Introduction to environmental planning for small farms’ workshop with Nicole Foote from New Zealand Landcare Trust. The workshop covered the following topics:
- Goals and vision for your property
- Infrastructure and natural resource mapping
- Understanding soils
- Identifying environmental risks
- Mitigating environmental risks
- A farm visit with a visual soil assessment
We had landowners attending with a range of different farming systems. This created some great knowledge sharing opportunities and lots of discussion on soils and the environment.
We are planning to run more of these workshops in the future so if you are interested in coming along to one, email Magali to let her know.
Rural Action Groups
We are currently seeking interest for farm workers, managers or rural professionals who might be interested in joining an action group. Joining an action group is a great way to work together with other like-minded farmers or rural professionals in small, facilitated groups. These groups are farmer led (focusing on the topics and experts that are most relevant the group members). It will provide you with opportunities to network, learn from experts and your peers, upskill and get access to resources. We will also provide you with further development opportunities.
These action groups are open to all ages and levels of experience. If you or your farm staff are interested in joining an action group, please email Lucy.