Farmers leading the change
- Admin
- 12 minutes ago
- 4 min read
A lot is going on in the hills and on the flats behind Ōhiwa Harbour. Yet the work of farmers and landowners for the health of the harbour is not always visible from the road. A new initiative allows farmers, as well as other landowners, in both the Ōhiwa/Nukuhou and the neighbouring Waiōtahe catchments to join forces and further strengthen their sustainable land use practices. The project is funded by the Ministry of Primary Industries and coordinated by NZ Landcare Trust/Ngā Matapopore Whenua.
In the Ōhiwa/Nukuhou catchment a group of farmers has been exercising what Margaret and Michael Kirk of Fairview Farm call their 'duty of care' for the land since the mid-1990s, considering the effects of their practices on the waterways that flow into Ōhiwa Harbour. When Norm Craig noticed the deteriorating water quality in local streams back in 1995, he contacted the Bay of Plenty Regional Council. This began a co-operative relationship that led to the retiring of 10 kilometres of stream edges from cattle grazing and replanting it to filter farm run-off and reduce stream-bank erosion. As a result, multiple wetlands for silt capture and beautification were created. From about 2012 Nukuhou farmers including Norm and the Kirk’s started working together as a small, informal group. The group currently has 11 members.
Last year dairy farmer Paul Warneford, one of the Nukuhou dairy farmers in the group, donated some of his land to Nukuhou North School to give students and the wider community the opportunity to be involved in developing a wetland. By August 2024 the earthworks were done and students began planting in the wetland.
In the Waiōtahe Valley dairy farmers formed the Waiōtahe catchment group, also known as Waiōtahe Water Care, as a direct response to the closure of the Waiotāhe pipi beds in 2017. Increased e coli levels had caused concerns for public health. Today, 15 dairy farms take part in this group. Jared and Sue Watson, past winners of the Bay of Plenty Ballance Farm Environment Awards, have been leading the group and continue to adapt their farming practices to prevent effluent running off into the Waiōtahe River.
Late last year Waiōtahe Water Care gathered with members of the community, Maromahue Marae, Regional Council, Ōhiwa Headlands Sanctuary and students from Waiōtahe Valley School at ‘the swimming hole’ on the Waiōtahe awa. Locals shared memories of what the area had once meant to them. Ideas for how it might be restored to be a place where everybody can enjoy and reconnect with the awa were also discussed.
Both catchment groups are run by committees that meet four times a year. Similar to the Ōhiwa/Nukuhou group the Waiōtahe group has been supported by the Bay of Plenty Regional Council’s land management team.
Now the two catchment groups have come together to carry out a project funded by the Ministry for Primary Industries’ Catchment Extension Fund. The Waiōtahe Water Care and Ōhiwa/Nukuhou Catchment Group (WWC/ONC) will host a minimum of four workshops/field days per year until early 2029, focussing on sustainable land management. The project is coordinated by Whakatāne-based Frances van Alphen from NZ Landcare Trust/Ngā Matapopore Whenua, a community-focused organisation committed to promoting sustainable land and water management. The workshops bring in experts who not often make it as far as Ōpōtiki. While they are targeted to farmers any landowners in the two catchments wanting to improve their practices are welcome to join. The next workshop is planned for September (Check back on this website for details.).
In addition to the workshops some of the funding has been earmarked to establish demonstration or trial sites. In the Ōhiwa catchment this is focussed on instream structures to manage severely eroding and undercut Nukuhou River banks. A first trial has been done on Elizabeth Nelson’s property at the Nukuhou River just upstream of the Matekerepu Bridge. Much of the eroding banks along the Nukuhou River were identified to be located in the vicinity. As the Nukuhou River banks are formed of well drained loamy soils, they are prone to erosion. They are further weakened by large amounts of water such as during recent heavy storm events. Three river bed control structures, which were developed by a Bay of Plenty Regional Council engineer, have recently been installed on this site. The structures artificially raise the bed level and thereby reduce the channel gradient and flow velocity. Ultimately, they lead to reducing the amount of sediment leading into the Ōhiwa Harbour.
Given that increased amounts of sediment are the biggest challenge Ōhiwa Harbour's fragile ecosystem is facing, the significance of any efforts to keep it on the land as much as possible cannot be overestimated. Initiatives such as the two catchment groups coming together for this purpose are invaluable.
Sources:
Frances van Alphen, Bay of Plenty Catchments Groups Coordinator, NZ Landcare Trust/Ngā Matapopore Whenua
Sami Fox, Land Management Officer, Bay of Plenty Regional Council Toi Moana
Bay of Plenty Regional Council website
Further reading:
‘How a suffering estuary brought people together’, NZ Herald, 17 May 2021
