Your Catchment Group Coordinator
Sarah Thorne
027 588 5200
sarah@thrivingsouthland.co.nz
Catchment Group Contact
Sally Hammond
lrsjhammond@netspeed.net.nz
0276837256
Watch this video to learn more about the Catchment Group
Thanks to Ballance Farm Environment Awards for creating this
Watch the video above to learn about the Understanding the Land to Drive Change project
About Us
The Hedgehope Makarewa Catchment Group is a group of local farmers, rural professionals and community members working together to care for their land, water, and people. Originally formed in 2014 as the Hedgehope Dunsdale Catchment Group - sparked by a roadside chat between two farmers - it expanded in 2020 to include Ryal Bush and Makarewa.
At its heart, our group is all about bringing people together to share knowledge and skills, access expert advice and information, and work on projects that are useful to our catchment and community. We work together to connect, inspire and support our community to be well informed, and make great decisions that look after and benefit our land, water and people.
We have a strong core committee, and all are welcome to come and join—whether you're keen to learn, lend a hand, or simply stay in the loop.
Catchment Area
Hedgehope Makarewa Catchment Group covers 60,000ha of our wider 111,940 ha wider catchment, stretching from just from just south of Mataura down to Rakahouka on State Highway 98. Its southern boundary (between Rakahouka and Edendale), runs north of State Highway 98 almost across to State Highway 1, where the eastern boundary cuts up between Edendale and Mataura. It reaches west to Ryal Bush and Wallacetown, with the Oreti River forming the western boundary.
Key waterways include the Oreti and Makarewa Rivers, plus the Dunsdale, Hedgehope, and Waikiwi Streams.
Recent Events
Hands on grow your own native plant workshop
If you’ve got locals keen to grow and care for their own native plants, you should definitely run one of these workshops - it was so much fun! We asked our neighbouring Mid Oreti Catchment Group, AB Lime and Sandra Campbell (Farmer, Otago South River Care member and MPI on farm support) if they could come and run this session for us, as they have amazing skills, knowledge and experience in this space.
We kicked off with a hands-on session using seeds, compost, newspapers, ice cream tubs, and secateurs to learn how to sow seeds, take cuttings, and pot up plants. We shared top tips to keep things simple, low-cost, and successful, and watched two short videos on using drones and modified spray booms to sow and care for native plants in farm gullies.
After a delicious BBQ lunch cooked by Craig from The Grocers in Woodlands, we teamed up with Hedgehope School to plant 200 natives around Mabel Bush Hall and another 300 on Nigel and Mandy Johnston’s farm. It was a brilliant three-hour effort, and we hope everyone feels proud every time they drive past and see what they helped create.
Projects
Understanding Our Land to Drive Change
At the heart of this project is a powerful online platform designed to help landowners in the Hedgehope Makarewa area make smarter, more targeted environmental decisions. By helping landowners understand their properties landscape susceptibility and resilience, it helps them work out what mitigation options to invest in and where they should be put on their property to get the most out of them.
Developed in partnership with Land & Water Science, the platform draws on radiometric mapping, drone surveys, and ground truthing to create high-resolution soil and hydrology maps across the catchment. The team then created a user-friendly interface that breaks the catchment into seven sub-catchments, each with tailored advice on water quality and greenhouse gas mitigation - Online Platform
Locals explored the data through hands-on workshops and field days, turning science into practical action. The project’s success was recognised with multiple awards, including the Environmental Improvement in Water Quality Award at the 2023 Environment Southland Community Awards. It’s a standout example of how community-led innovation and good data can drive real change on the ground, and was one of the first projects to take this approach in Southland.
More information on our project can be found here, including a short video, case study summaries and the link to the online mapping platform.
Mabel Bush & Hedgehope Shared Community Lunch
Hands On Grow Your Own Native Plant Workshop
MPI – Native Planting & Establishment Workshop
Co-hosted Mid & Lower Oreti Bus Trip
Winter Crop Establishment Trial
Thriving Southland is a community-led group with a vision to create a prosperous Southland, healthy people, healthy environment from the mountains to the sea.
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CONTACT US
25 Don Street,
Invercargill 9810
