East Coast Catchment Group Award Winners 2022 – Tukipo Catchment Care Group in Hawkes Bay

Initially formed in 2018 by local farmer Rob Barry, farmers and landowners have taken the opportunity to work collaboratively in the Tukipo Catchment Care Group (TCCG), the first of 17 sub-catchments in the Tukituki with a community led sub-catchment group.

At present 90% of the landowners across the Tukipo sub-catchment are involved in the catchment group. This includes a diverse range of farming and growing operations including sheep, beef, deer, dairy, poultry, viticulture and arable.

The group’s vision statement is “Enhancing the Environment – Thriving Community” and they aim to be advocates for their environment and community, leaders in sustainable farming practices, improve water quality, increase biodiversity and coordinate pest and weed control.

Some of their achievements include the construction of a large scale wetland being used to monitor the impacts on nutrient reduction, water quality and biodiversity enhancement projects, riparian planting, pest control and further wetland construction. In addition the group has held a series of well-attended workshops, organised hunting competitions for pest control and established a nursery using locally sourced seed.

The catchment group entered the Ballance Farm Environment Awards to lift their public profile, get feedback to inform their next steps and help determine other opportunities there are to help support farmers to continue their great work improving their environmental footprint. They are also looking forward to meeting other catchment groups and learning from their experiences.