What we’re up to

Kiwi thriving on farmland - how cool is that! Congrats to Tānekaha Community Pest Control Group (made up of mostly Fonterra farmers) for their efforts creating a 2900 ha haven for even more kiwi releases. They were one of the first farming groups to successfully get a kiwi translocation approved in Northland. Throughout its life, their project has been supported by Living Water, Northland Regional Council, Department of Conservation, NZ Landcare Trust, Auckland Zoo and Whangarei Native Bird Recovery Centre -and the area borders Living Water's work in the Okarika pocket https://www.livingwater.net.nz/catchment/wairua-river/okarika-pocket-transformation/

We love the use of sediment traps in this Canterbury project. This section of stream with Million Metres is close to where Living Water and CAREX are carrying out trials and restoration - together we can achieve much more for these waterways as a community than working solo! Find out about the area: https://www.livingwater.net.nz/catchment/ararira-lii-river/

You can't protect what you don't know - here's the seed pods of a rare New Zealand orchid, the Swamp Leek Orchid, found by our team in Northland's Otakairangi Wetland, surrounded by farmland. In summer this special plant has yellow-green flowers with a very sweet perfume and it survives in some remaining wetlands in the North Island. Here Living Water is monitoring the plants, soil and water to see how rare biodiversity can co-exist with dairy farming. Read more about our work in Northland here https://www.livingwater.net.nz/catchment/wairua-river/

Amazing to hear hihi and stitchbird outside a predator proof fence - and to hear about the community movement that Polhill Protectors have created! Thanks Paul Stanley Ward and Brent Beaven Predator Free New Zealand Trust for a great Living Water National Hui walk and talk

It's #WorldEnvironmentDay and we’re celebrating our unique freshwater ecosystems! DOC and Fonterra want healthy freshwater ecosystems to thrive side by side with sustainable land use – that’s why our 10-year partnership is focused on trialling tools and solutions to make that a reality. Learn more about our work by clicking the title above.

Click the title above for pics. Last weekend Fonterra families and friends planted Living Water's sediment trap banks at Ruatuna peat lake - over time the plants will stabilise the banks and enable the traps to keep doing their jobs, as well as provide habitat for birds and insects. Thanks to all who came along for a great day out - and thanks to the Fonterra and Department of Conservation teams who made it happen! Learn about sediment traps here https://www.livingwater.net.nz/catchment/lakes-areare-ruatuna-rotomanuka/

A TVNZ Sunday programme: The godwits that inhabit our Pukorokoro-Miranda catchment head to North Korea on their way to Alaska. Living Water has helped our partners Pūkorokoro Miranda Naturalists' Trust from the Pukorokoro Miranda Shorebird Centre head to North Korea, to places where no foreigner has been allowed to film before! Responsible dairy farming includes connecting ecosystems on a global scale - read more about our work in Pūkorokoro Miranda here https://www.livingwater.net.nz/catchment/pukorokoro-miranda/

These cabbage trees and manuka are just two years old and already overhead! They are loving the extensive wetland area where they were planted around Waikato peat lake Ruatuna, funded by Living Water and planted by local school pupils. Great habitat for wildlife and a buffer between freshwater lake and farmland.

Check out our pics - we've just installed some more sediment traps next to Waikato Peat Lake Ruatuna, a DOC reserve in farmland. These excavations don't cost much, and will capture any sediment coming off the land before it gets to the lake. They can be dug out again every 2-4 years. The banks will be planted with natives soon.

Why are we spraying black stuff over a patch of land on a dairy farm? This rich composty liquid is filled with carex seeds - we're testing whether this is an economic and easy option for planting difficult sites, to capture sediment and effluent. Learn more in our timelapse by clicking the title above. Thanks to Erosion Control Ltd.

Collaboration is the greatest thing! Many of us from mana whenua, NGOs, govt and community are working together to improve the Kaipara harbour through the rivers that run into it. One partner in our work in Northland - Million Metres – has kicked off a crowdfunding campaign. Read about it here.

Have you ever thought of trying Sprint Planning from Google Ventures? It's an intense 5-day sprint to answer critical business questions - compressing months of planning time into less than a week. How did it go for us? Read about our experience in our case study

Do you have whitebait in your local creek? Some pics from our recent community event Backyard Freshwater Fish Conservation on a farm near Kaiaua, where our fish traps identified inanga, bullies, crayfish and shrimp. We were checking straw bales in the water which perfectly mimic the dense bases of the native grasses that whitebait love to spawn in. And had lots of expert chat on what makes a good whitebait habitat! - check out our expert Jason Roxborough on RNZ here: http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/nights/audio/2018642551/weekend-whitebait

This is one of our detention bunds being created on a Northland farm - and the rain then filling it up. We hope this will improve the quality of water that reaches the Wairua River and the Kaipara Harbour. We'll be monitoring water quality over the next 18 months and will let you how well this reduces peak flow and captures sediment.

Click the title above to watch Matt Highway from Living Water reporting from a Northland farm where we've just had the diggers and engineers excavate a huge bund, to improve river water quality. If all goes well over the next 18 months, this tool could be used on farms around New Zealand.

A lot of gold in this Stuff article - we're loving the work our partners CAREX are doing in Canterbury! They're working on solid science to give farmers simple ways to manage their waterways https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/agribusiness/103265800/scientists-work-on-simple-ways-to-clean-streams