Flaxbourne Irrigation scheme receives grant

By Chris Valli

The Flaxbourne-Waima Community Irrigation Scheme is the r e cipient of the 2022 Westpac Watercare Project grant.

NZ Landcare Trust and Westpac NZ are awarding six grants of $10,000 every year through the Westpac Watercare Project, to support sustainable initiatives for rivers, lakes, streams and wetlands. The first six grants were handed out in late 2022.

The scheme which has been under development since 2008 was originally governed by a voluntary group of directors for the benefit of the Flaxbourne community.

The scheme sources water from the Waima (Ure) River and transfers it to the Flaxbourne area and distributes it to participating landowners. The focus has been on i mp roving severe lake erosion and encouraging native wildlife to return through native planting and a pest control programme.

Over a decade of planning and hard work has gone into the scheme, at significant cost and some risk to those who signed up at the beginning.

NZ Landcare Trust CEO Dr Nick Edgar says the funding can be used by local groups on a range of practical initiatives such as pest control, water quality monitoring and native planting.

“Many of New Zealand’s waterways are in poor condition and r e cent extreme weather events have compounded the situation. Our catchment groups are doing a remarkable job around the country in increasing biodiversity and improving water quality, but funding is always an issue,” Dr Edgar says.

“The Westpac Watercare Project grants give catchment groups the opportunity to put their water quality goals into action and help to future proof their catchments against severe weather events.”

Westpac NZ Head of Agribusiness Tim Henshaw says the funding f rom the 2022 grants is already helping deliver results for catchment groups around the country.

“What we love about partnering with NZ Landcare Trust is working together to get money straight to where it needs to go - from helping restore whio (blue duck) populations on East Coast rivers, to preserving precious inanga (whitebait) habitats in Northland, to creating shared community spaces in rural Southland,” Mr Henshaw says.

“As well as providing the grants, Westpac staff is out in the community getting their hands dirty with other committed locals on these projects. It’s a real team effort to build healthier waterways and communities for the benefit of everyone.”

The six recipients of 2022 Westpac Watercare Project grants were: Piroa Conservation Trust, Northland: Improving biodiversity t h rough riparian planting, weed and pest animal control, fencing and planting to improve inanga populations.

Eastern Whio Link, East Coast: Maintaining and rebating 400 traps with stoat lures and CO2 gas canisters to enable whio (blue duck) population to thrive.

Flaxbourne-Waima, Marlborough: Improving severe lake erosion and encouraging native wildlife to return through native planting and a pest control programme.

Sefton Saltwater Creek, Canterbury: Increasing existing water quality monitoring programme to sample four times a year.

Mid Taieri Wai, Otago: Implementing a water quality monitoring programme.

Makarewa Headwaters, Southland: Implementing a native planting and pest control programme. Ad ditionally, creating a shared space that can be used for others. Applications for this year’s grants are open until Wednesday 5 July. Groups can register their interest in funding now at https://landcare.org.nz/project/ westpac-water-care-project.