The 'Aorere Catchment Group' hosted a celebration of water quality enhancement with a wide audience on Friday 26th June. The 'dairy farmer-driven' project has been pivotal in raising awareness of water quality issues. 

NZ Landcare Trust Project Coordinator Gretchen Robertson said “We wanted to celebrate the reestablishment of pride in this community. We want to ensure tourism, recreation, biodiversity and farming can all thrive. It is wonderful to see all sectors of the community getting involved, making a difference and having fun together doing it”.

Friday’s event attracted over 70 attendees with dairy farming, marine farming, Collingwood Area School, Golden Bay Streamcare Group, Fonterra, DairyNZ, Fish and Game, Tasman District Council, and Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry representation. 

Minister for the Environment Dr Nick Smith and Green MP Kevin Hague attended the celebration and heard community presentations on the project’s approach. Both MPs agreed the project offers a successful model with national applicability. They support the collaborative governance approach taken to sustaining farming and a high quality environment. Dr Nick Smith said “I will ensure this project is promoted far and wide as it is a model of what we need to happen in communities throughout the country”. 

Project member Sue Brown said “Our story is about dairy farmers taking ownership of our environmental performance and seeing it as an integral part of the future business success, not just a compliance issue”.

The success of the project was reflected in the Deputy Director General of Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry’s announcement of a further $259,000 grant over 3 years. The next step is to continue practical on-farm advice offering farm plans to reduce E. coli. 

The group will also share their ‘farmers as leaders’ approach with other Upper South Island dairy communities including the Rai Valley, where bathing closures due to poor water quality occurred over summer.