What we’re up to

We're installing new water level monitors on the drains that run through the Okarika Pocket - we want to know what happens during large rain events and how it impacts on the rare wetland and put solutions in place to reduce further degradation. Read more 👇 https://www.livingwater.net.nz/catchment/wairua-river/okarika-pocket-transformation

One of Living Water's key focuses is working with iwi and hapu to build capability and weave Mātauranga Māori into our solutions. Here's our Northland Site Lead, Andrew working with Ngā Kaitiaki O Ngā Wai Māori, electrofishing to understand what species are present and gather a picture of their overall health. Learn more about our Maori Engagement Strategy 👇 https://www.livingwater.net.nz/our-progress/national-projects/maori-engagement-and-collaboration

LISTEN: Learn about Living Water, Spotless Crake and how you can get involved in conservation from our very own Hauraki & Waikato Living Water Biodiversity Ranger (and all round super star) Rose, on Raglan Radio https://archive.org/details/rosegrahamlivingwaterproject191001

Throwback to conservation week, when Waituna Ambassadors of Gorge Road School hosted nearby Glenham School to share conservation knowledge of their wetland, including identifying native fish, managing predators, what birds live in the wetland and where the introduced species came from. Thanks to Fonterra for providing the BBQ Department of Conservation for the surprise display of weed-detecting conservation dog! Read about what we're doing in the area: https://livingwater.net.nz/catchment/waituna-lagoon/

In the Pūkorokoro-Miranda catchment, our key focus is protecting and expanding the shorebird habitat, reducing sediment loads and connecting on-farm biodiversity via ‘mountains to sea’ blue corridors. See how we're doing this👇 https://youtu.be/TJoPm7qTJIU

Living Water recognises that working in partnership with mana whenua is critical for the success of the programme, our teams across New Zealand are working alongside Iwi to help build mana whenua capacity and capability to restore Kaitiakitanga. https://youtu.be/cuhZmfPIEso

Finding game-changing and scalable solutions that will allow farming, freshwater and healthy ecosystems to thrive side-by-side is what get us out of bed every morning. https://youtu.be/tgkp1xB0jk4

See the highlights from each of our catchments from our 6th year in partnership with Department of Conservation and Fonterra https://www.livingwater.net.nz/our-progress/im:1432/2019-progress-report/

Every year the Pūkorokoro-Miranda Naturalist Trust members take part in the annual shorebird survey, this year they were surprised to find the shorebirds in some unusual places. Watch the video to find out more 👇 https://www.livingwater.net.nz/im:1769/

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We're in Northland with Fonterra farmer Graeme Gillett, talking about the support he has had from Fonterra and Department of Conservation as part of the Living Water partnership to protect nature for future generations. https://youtu.be/w-Gu2BwBQ2c

Learn how we created a low cost wetland for improving water quality and creating habitat with Northland Regional Council and Northland Fish and Game at a one day workshop on a local Northland farm. https://www.livingwater.net.nz/catchment/wairua-river/low-cost-wetland-construction

Spotless crake, or pūweto and Australasian Bittern only stick around if you've restored your wetland right - read about DOC ranger Dr Emma Williams' work with these cryptic birds. Emma has been bittern and crake spotting around our Waikato Peat Lakes where some have been found thanks to our Waikato team's restoration efforts. A fitting story to end #ConservationWeek. Read 👇 https://confetticonfetti.co.nz/2019/09/16/birds-of-a-feather Marsh Crake photo by Colin O’Donnell, DOC

It's #FieldDayFriday and we're out at Yarrs Flat with 160 Lincoln Primary students learning about the significance of this area, what lives here, what pests are here, we did some planting and much more! Thanks to Te Ara Kākāriki - Greenway Canterbury, Waihora Ellesmere Trust, Environment Canterbury, Lincoln University and Te Taumutu Runanga Selwyn-Waihora Zone Committee for helping to make this happen.

Team photo! Say hi to our Programme Management Team and Site Leads 👋 We had a get together in Hamilton last week where we welcomed our newest member, Chris, who is our Waituna Site Lead while Jane is on secondment. We connected, shared our stories,progress, mapped out where we are going and how we will get there. We were also by joined by Hemi and Viv from the Fonterra Sustainable Catchment team.

Our teams across New Zealand are working alongside Iwi to help build mana whenua capacity and capability to restore Kaitiakitanga. Watch 👇 https://youtu.be/cuhZmfPIEso