Read our Catchment Group Summary
Read our Factsheet
Your Catchment Group Coordinator
Katie Alderton
021 399 343
katie@thrivingsouthland.co.nz
Catchment Group Contact
Alison Thomas
027 211 4923
lonefarm@outlook.com
Projects
About the Group
The Waikawa Catchment Group has been going strong since 2009. It’s one of the longest-running community catchment groups in Southland and a great example of what can be achieved when locals lead the way. The group’s vision is simple, a healthy river and environment that everyone can be proud of. There’s a real sense of pride and long-term commitment among members, who come from across the catchment’s farms, bush areas, and coastal communities.
Catchment Area
The Waikawa Catchment covers around 18,000 hectares in Southland’s Catlins region. It includes the Waikawa River and estuary, with waterways such as Mill Creek and Stinking Creek, and coastal streams like Cook Creek and Falls Creek. The catchment encompasses the settlements of Waikawa, Curio Bay and Niagara, and rural areas including Fortification, Waikawa Valley, Quarry Hills, Scrubby Hill and Progress Valley. The land use is a mix of sheep and beef, limited dairy, forestry, and conservation areas.
Recent Events
Field Day: Slow the Flow Project Sites – visited all seven sites where farmers implemented erosion and sediment mitigation.
Seed Sourcing & Propagation Workshop – hands-on session teaching how to collect and grow native plants for future restoration.
Riparian Planting Day – along the Waikawa River, enhancing water quality, restoring native ecosystems, and improving catchment health.
Feral Animal Management Workshop – held jointly with Makarewa Headwaters Catchment Group, focused on strategies to reduce pest impacts.
Projects
Slow the Flow / Erosion Mitigation Project
The Slow the Flow Project came out of the group’s Integrated Catchment Management Plan, which identified erosion and sediment loss as major challenges. With funding from Environment Southland and MfE, seven farmers carried out on-farm projects — from planting and fencing to building sediment traps and wetlands. Together they’ve retired over 50,000m² of land and planted thousands of natives. It’s a great example of locally led action that’s improving water quality and resilience across the catchment.
Waikawa Integrated Catchment Management Plan (ICMP)
The Waikawa Catchment Group worked with Environment Southland and the Ministry for the Environment to co-develop the Waikawa ICMP. This community-led plan captured the community’s aspirations for the catchment and identified initiatives to achieve them. The ICMP was presented as an interactive StoryMap, combining science, local knowledge, and stories, and was designed to remain open for ongoing community input and future projects.
Waikawa Landscape Investigation
The Waikawa Landscape Investigation with Land & Water Science has given farmers valuable mapping tools to target mitigation where it’s most effective. The group also developed an interactive Integrated Catchment Management Plan (ICMP) StoryMap that captures local knowledge, science, and future project ideas.
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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25 Don Street,
Invercargill 9810