After a challenging Spring, and with continued unsettled weather, farmers are full swing making balage, regrassing and getting crops in the ground.
If you are wondering how wet it was, the four months from June to September were the wettest four months since 1970, with rainfall on average 150 percent above normal. In September alone, we received twice our normal monthly rainfall.
After three very wet springs, it’s looking like El Nino will bring more changeable weather. It means conversations around continuing to build resilience in our farm systems are front and centre.
The change in the weather has also seen our groups back in action working through some great projects.
Congratulations must go to the Edendale Aquifer group for their success at the Environment Southland Community awards , taking out the “Environment action in Waterways and Wetlands” award. A great example of a project that keeps delivering and building on a great farmer led initiative. We are keen to see where this project will lead.
Mid Ōreti nursery drop-in sessions show the power of consistency- first Tuesday of every month, continuing to engage new people from both catchment groups and community, get along if you get the chance!
We’re starting a monthly Catchment Group profile this month, so check out what the Between the Domes Group have been up to.
Always good to see the next generation of farmers coming through. Sarah, our Mid Oreti Coordinator and Rob from the ES Land Sustainability Team had a great day out at Southland Girls’ High School’s Young Farmers event .
And finally, we’d love you to join us at the Thriving Southland AGM this month, details below.
Have a great November!
Message from the Chair, Jeff Grant
The dark days of early spring seem to have passed and it’s pleasing to see groundwork well under way.
Over recent months, Thriving Southland has been looking at opportunities to encourage active improvement of our landscape, and we’re having a Board and staff session in the next few weeks to look at development areas. A great example of this has been speaking at an Invercargill City Council meeting recently outlining how Thriving Southland operates and our interest in establishing a Catchment Group in and around Invercargill city. There was certainly interest by come Councilors, and we are now scoping how that may look, before holding a workshop with interested parties.
Our AGM is on the 11 November, 3pm at the Kelvin Hotel and this will be my last Thriving Southland meeting as a Board member and Chairman. We are well set up for the future with core funding for the next four years, a strong Board and a committed and organised staff to help Catchment Groups into the future.
Thriving Southland is now recognised throughout New Zealand for its work and structure for delivering good environmental programs within the Southland community.
I will leave the organisation knowing that it is making a positive contribution to our communities. Our key drivers are foundational: “bottom up” (Catchment Groups decide their direction) and “tools not the rules” (providing Catchment Groups the science and practical solutions for their community).
It has been an enjoyable role and I look forward to watching from the sidelines “Ka kite ano” (see you again)!
Jeff Grant
News
Southland Mayoral Relief Fund – Community Resilience Project funding round
As Southland acknowledges the first anniversary of the October 2025 severe weather event, community groups are being encouraged to apply for funding to strengthen their resilience and preparedness for future emergencies.
The Southland Mayoral Relief Fund was opened to support individuals, households, businesses and communities affected by the event. With the first hardship phase now complete, the remaining funds will be invested in projects that strengthen community resilience, support recovery, and build long-term community capacity in response to the event.
Applications close on 6 November, and more information can be found here.
Funding available for wetland projects across Southland
Got a wetland project that you want to create or one that needs a boost? Thriving Southland’s Wetland Development Fund is open for applications to help you turn practical environmental ideas into action.
Supported by an Environment Southland community grant, the fund aims to improve freshwater outcomes across Southland while building knowledge and encouraging community involvement in environmental stewardship.
Funding may support projects like wetland restoration and creation, riparian planting, sediment trap construction and biodiversity enhancement.
Projects must address an identified environmental issue, drawing on available catchment science to show that the right action is being taken in the right place and include a maintenance strategy. Projects seeking more than $10,000 must form part of a catchment-agreed initiative. Co-funding, including in-kind contributions, is preferred.
How to apply
Check the eligibility criteria on the Wetland Development Fund webpage and have a chat with your Catchment Group Coordinator about your project idea.
Complete the application form and submit it to Thriving Southland.
Applications are open until 30 June 2028 or until funding is exhausted. All applications will be reviewed by an independent Project Panel managed by Thriving Southland. First Panel review will take place early February 2027.
Successful applicants will also be asked to document their project’s progress and outcomes, helping share what works and encourage further environmental improvements across the region.
Have a project in mind? Visit www.thrivingsouthland.co.nz/wetland-development-fund or contact your Catchment Group Coordinator to find out more.
Jenny Campbell is the inaugural recipient of the Te Tohu Kahika o te Taiao
We join Environment Southland in celebrating the extraordinary Jenny Campbell, recipient of the newly created Te Tohu Kahika o te Taiao.
Jenny’s quiet dedication over the decades has brought countless environmental projects and stories across Murihiku Southland into the light. Named after the kahikatea, this award reflects the strength, support, and deep community roots Jenny has nurtured for so many years.
Congratulations, Jenny, on this deeply deserved honor. Ngā mihi nui ki a koe for your tireless support of our environment and people. 🌿
Environment Southland Community Award Winners: Edendale Aquifer Group
Congratulations to Edendale Aquifer Group (EAG) for taking out the Environmental Action in Wetlands and Waterways award, sponsored by Southland Fish & Game.
The 30th year of Environment Southlands Community Awards, held on the 22 October in Invercargill, was a celebration of community groups inspiring change and environmental action.
Thriving Southland would like to congratulate all the nominees and award winners. It was incredible to see the range of diverse work being done across Mirihiku to support communities and protect the environment.
EAG’s winning “Understanding Nitrogen” project was born out of the community drive to understand why they were seeing elevated nitrate levels in the Edendale catchment. Project highlights included two pilot wetlands, low-N farm system trials, water quality monitoring and community nitrate testing.
Fantastic to see EAG recognised in such a great line up of projects across the region.
Get excited for the 2026 Christmas competition – starting soon!
We're back again. It's getting close to the time to show us your best Christmas creations! You can enter as a Catchment Group, business, individual, farm, or any way that suits you! It opens 15 November to 13 December.
Whether you’re getting creative with your Christmas display by painting bales, lining up pallets, decorating mailboxes, shed or gates, we can’t wait to see it. And there are prizes up for grabs, thanks to support from local Southern businesses.
Catchment Group Profile: Between the Domes
Formed in 2017, the Between the Domes Catchment Group brings together locals from the Five Rivers Plain – stretching from the Eyre Mountains down to Josephville. Nestled between West and Mid Dome, our diverse landscape spans alpine tussock, beech forest, and vibrant river flats. Our motto is Engage, Educate, and Enhance.
Between The Domes woolshed get together
We are passionate about intergenerational care for our land, practical farming transparency, and keeping our community connected. During the years, we’ve tackled great projects like baleage wrap recycling, wetland restoration, and wintering field days—even earning the 2022 Environment Southland Water Quality Award! We love keeping things friendly and practical, whether catching up over a woolshed social or exploring local farms.
Recent Events
Awarua water sampling project and bird monitoring gets underway
Geese on New River Estuary
Water sampling is now underway in the Awarua Catchment as part of a 12-month project to better understand local water quality pressures. Samples will be collected monthly from sites on the Mokotua and Waimatua waterways, both above and below the influence of high tide.
Alongside the sampling, Canada goose and black swan populations will be monitored. Canada geese are an emerging pest species across Southland and are already creating challenges in the Awarua catchment. Bringing the two monitoring programmes together will help show how bird populations may be contributing to water quality pressures in these waterways.
Young Farmers extraordinaire at TeenAg event
Rob Bird from Environment Southland working with SGHS students
Southland Girls’ High School put on a fantastic TeenAg style event for their Young Farmers Club during the first week back in Term four. Sarah teamed up with Rob from Environment Southland and did a cool session looking at stream health with macroinvertebrates (stream critters) and clarity tubes.
We wanted these young farmers to realise that there are easy ways to look at the health of their streams, that will give them great information to help with farm plans and reporting. This is information that goes towards their future farm businesses getting premium value for their meat, wool and milk.
There were 15 different activities, including quad bikes, electric fencing, animal pests, wool grading, dog handling, milking machinery. Teams of three rotated around the activities and got scored on teamwork, positive attitude and knowledge/skills. Every team worked together well and it was an absolute pleasure to be part of the afternoon. It did get a bit chilly by the end, and the thank you BBQ prepared by the Rabobank Team was a real treat. The students were very keen for this event to happen again next year.
Upcoming Events
Save the date – Thriving Southland AGM
When: 11 November, from 3pm to 5.30pm
Where: Kelvin Hotel – 6th Floor Conference Room
Join us for afternoon tea and a catch up with other Southland farmers and friends, before finding out about what Thriving Southland have done in 2025/2026 and plans for 2026/27. Also hear about some of the amazing projects Catchment Groups are working on in Southland, and how Aroha Kaikorai Valley Trust are tackling urban engagement.
RSVP by emailing office@thrivingsouthland.co.nz or phone 021 466 700.
Mini Forest Movement Native Plant Nursery drop-in session
When: First Tuesday of every month, from 4pm to 6pm
All welcome to come to our monthly native plant growing working-bee evenings at the AB Lime Nursery. Your help will go toward growing plants for the Mid Ōreti Mini Forest Movement Project, which provides native plants to the local community and landowners for their planting projects. Training is provided and all ages welcome! Stay for as little or as long as you like.
