Lower Oreti Catchment Group

The Lower Oreti Catchment Group covers the lower reaches of the Oreti River catchment, from Spar Bush in the north down to Ferry Road in the South, and borders the Waimatuku catchment in the West and the Hedgehope-Makarewa catchment in the East.

Topography: flat to gently undulating alluvial terraces in the lower reaches of the Oreti River and Makarewa River catchments.
Main surface water catchments: Lower Oreti River and Makarewa River, with Waianiwa Stream, Waikiwi Stream and the Tomoporakau Creek.

Group coordinator

Sarah Thorne
027 588 5200
sarah@thrivingsouthland.co.nz

Days of work: Monday - Thursday (lunchtime)

____

Date the Catchment Group started

Official start date is the 29th June with the first Lower Oreti Catchment Group event!

Numbers of members in the CG

Six keen locals have been attending events run by New Zealand Landcare Trust, Thriving Southland and other Southland Catchment Groups over the past 18 months, and decided in March 2021 to start their group with a Wintering Field Day in June.

Types of people in the group

The dream is to have a diverse group of people from different backgrounds and land uses, with a passion for improving the environment and the health of the waterways found in the Lower Oreti area.

Everyone is welcome.

Who we are

The Lower Oreti Catchment Group has been formed with the goal to help farmers and our local community:

Better understand the challenges we face around balancing farm production with sustainable land use, and improvement of water quality and biodiversity
Identify opportunities and drive farmer-led, grassroots action in our local area
Respond to changing environmental policies and shifting consumer behaviours.

Future projects and events

We plan to run events to bring people together to share knowledge and skills, access expert advice and information. Our aim is to work on projects that are useful to our catchment and the local community.

Wintering field day (29 June 2021)
-Know your catchment – issues and actions
-Wetlands and sediment traps workshop
-Understand stream health and water quality
-Farm Environmental Plan assistance
-Riparian planting assistance
-Wintering system trials
-Pest management and trapping programme