EPA funding for water testing

e Environmental Protection Authority has partnered with NZ Landcare Trust and Wilderlab to fund 19 community catchment groups to test a waterway in their region to discover the plants and animals living in it. ey will test for environmental DNA, or eDNA, which is the tiny trace of genetic material left behind as living things pass through water or soil.

EPA engagement general manager Paula Knaap says rural groups see many bene ts from learning more about their waterways.

“ rough eDNA, they might learn about native sh living in a stream, for instance. ese sh aren’t always easy to see, so eDNA results give a clearer picture and allow groups to better manage their waterways.

“Our eDNA programme supplements a lot of the restoration work catchment groups are already doing such as riparian planting, stream health assessments, restoration of mauri of awa and kaitiakitanga.

“Most of the funding for the groups will go toward baseline testinggetting an overview of what lives in their streams and catchments. Other groups will be monitoring over time or comparing di erent sites in their catchment. Many of the projects are led by mana whenua or are collaborations with mana whenua.”

Paula says this round is an opportunity for the EPA to connect and build relationships with catchment groups, and the rural sector. Many of the catchment groups involve farmers and other members of the agricultural community. Landcare Trust has been working with the EPA to connect our programme to rural communities.

Victor says there are at least three big companies putting in utility scale solar farms in the Whakatāne district already, “because they have noticed that we are very sunny”.

Local Democracy Reporting has previously published a story about the Lodestone Energy building, a 32MW solar farm in Edgecumbe.

He says Helios Energy is also quite far advanced in building an 110MW solar farm in Edgecumbe and he understands Far North Solar is also looking into the area.

“ e original proposals that we put in preceded that. Now they’re here, and