We are a catchment group with a huge passion for our local community, especially our younger generations.  We want to educate and work as a community to come up with practical solutions to improve our waterways for our future generations.  Our events and projects often have a strong water quality, education and community focus to them. 

Water Quality Project

Our first step was to understand our water quality.  So in February 2020 we asked Roger Hodson, Senior Scientist - Surface Water Quality at Environment Southland, to come and talk to us about the health of our local waterways.  The Waihopai Catchment was the site of a special study by Environment Southland from 2005 to 2015 called Living Streams. Through this work, its water quality and what could be done to look after it - was studied across our whole catchment for 10 years.  This started lots of good initiatives that are now used by Environment Southland across Southland.

Mid Winter Get-Together

We then followed this up with a Mid-Winter Calving & Lambing get-together in September, where the community could leave their gumboots at the door and be with friends and neighbours at a very busy time of year.  They also had a chance to meet their local Catchment Group members, and chatted about ideas for projects and events in the Waihopai catchment over a bite to eat and a drink.

Woodlands Outdoor Learning Area

Looking after our waterways for our future generations is really important to us, and we are very lucky to have Woodlands School and their Outdoor Learning Area at the heart of our community.  In December we visited Woodlands School Year 4 to 8 students, and they showed and talked to us about all the work they have been doing at their amazing Outdoor Learning Area, along with their future ideas and plans.

Rapid Habitat Assessments

We then headed to Eoin McKenzie’s farm in March 2021 to learn some new skills and different ways to monitor the health of our streams.  We used a one page visual assessment sheet called a Rapid Habitat Assessment, and then got in the stream and looked at the macroinvertebrates (stream bugs) that live there using kitchen sieves, plastic spoons and white ice cream tubs.  People went home armed with some new information and skills to look at their streams and see what they can find. Many thanks to the McKenzie Family for hosting us on their farm. 

Woodlands School - What is a Catchment Group?

We headed back to Woodlands School in March, and Sarah and Bob ran sessions with the top two classes on what a catchment is, what Catchment Groups do, and what is special about their catchment local Catchment Group.  The kids built a catchment on the floor using fabric, plants and toys, and also learnt about how riparian planting works, and identified some common native plants. 

Aquavan Project

We worked alongside the Gore-Waimumu Catchment Group to bring the University of Otago New Zealand Marine Studies Centre Aquavan back to Southland in March 2021, to run the Discovering our Catchment and Coastal Connections Education programme.  The Aquavan is specially designed to transport live marine critters and touch pools to schools and communities, to create awareness and understanding of the connectivity between river health and the coastal environment.  700 Year 5 to Year 8 students from Gore and Invercargill attended the fun 2 hour education sessions, with two successful community events being run as well.

Farm Recycling Field Day

In July we ran a great on farm recycling field day covering baleage wrap, dairy shed, household and community recycling options.  All things recycling were discussed, and many ideas were shared.  We got to see the Plasback recycling system in action in the paddock, and hear from local reps about recycling options and systems we could become involved with.  A special part of the event was having Charlotte Burns (10 years old from Woodlands Full Primary School) open and close the field day in Te Reo supported by her Principal. Many thanks to Joel and Linnet Burns for hosting us on their farm, and sharing their ideas and experiences.

eDNA Sampling

The group (along with the other Southland Catchment Groups) took part in a nationwide eDNA (environmental DNA) water quality monitoring programme, and chose Woodlands School Outdoor Learning Area as their site.  This will provide valuable information on the plants and animals found in and around New Zealand’s waterways.

Xmas BBQ

We finished off the year with a Christmas BBQ at a local farm’s mai mai. Very Southland!

Waste Reduction

Our focus for 2022 was to do some events for the wider catchment community.  So we hosted a fun interactive talk by Trish Rankin on reducing waste on your farm, in your household and in your community, and have been one of three Catchment Groups who have lead a scoping study on how to support the adoption of good wintering practice in Southland when English is a second language.  We will continue to work with our international farming communities and local stakeholders and agencies to find ways to help develop and support the continued uptake of Good Management Practices on farms across Southland, and build stronger, more diverse Farm Teams and Community Catchment Groups. Information on the project can be found here.

Mid & Lower Oreti Bus Trip

2023 saw the Catchment Group join with the other 6 Oreti Catchment Groups to host a Mid & Lower Oreti bus trip to help understand their catchment better and all the great work that is being done to look after it.  This idea came about after the 2022 annual get together of the Oreti Catchment Groups, and included stops looking at New River Estuary, a constructed wetland, native biodiversity and good farming practices.  We hope it is the start of many Oreti bus trips, and a copy of the booklet created for the bus trip can be found here.

Waihopai Wetlands & Sediment Trap Field Day

To help people get some ideas for their farm, we ran an informative and useful field day looking at a wetland and sediment trap at two local farms.  There were lots of questions asked and answered, and we came up with some great ideas on what might be next for our Catchment Group.  Many thanks to the O'Reilly and the Schmidt Families for welcoming us on to their farms and talking to us about what they have done.  Also to Brooke and her team for hosting our afternoon tea in their woolshed at the Woodlands Research Farm, and to Rob and Jessie from Environment Southland, Karina from Plasbacknz, James from Pukerau Nursery, and co-organiser Nicole from Fonterra.

Please contact us if you have any great ideas or would like to be involved.