The Living Water partnership between the Department of Conservation and Fonterra ran from 2013 until 2023. During that time, Living Water has designed and delivered 70 projects. Some have been completed by our DOC and Fonterra teams, but many of them are in partnership with mana whenua, farmers, communities, scientists and other environmental organisations.

We did over 40 trials, looking at farm scale, catchment scale and social approaches that support systematic and behavioural change.

Reflecting on where the partnership began in 2013, as well as the tangible improvements, there's been a massive shift in mindsets and attitudes towards freshwater, biodiversity and farming.