Bay of Plenty Catchment Group Award Winners 2022 – Uretara Estuary Managers Inc (Project Parore)

What began in 1999 as a group of concerned community members looking to improve the health of the estuary and environs near Katikati has expanded today to include all nine stream catchments that enter the northern Tauranga Harbour.

The catchment group’s main objectives include conservation activities, supporting local recreational opportunities and enhancing indigenous biodiversity.

To date, they have catchment plans in place with 25 properties within the Te Mania Stream catchment and a further 12 plans for the larger properties within the other catchment areas.

A founding member of the Bay Conservation Alliance, Project Parore sees some of their biggest achievements as the implementation of Catchment Management Plans and work to assess the health of the estuary and waterways. They have also carried out remediation to fish passage in the local streams, planted many kilometres of riparian planting in partnership with landowners, assisted with the development of 5Ha of new wetlands and identified endangered species throughout their catchment including long-tailed bats and rifleman.

This catchment group entered the Ballance Farm Environment Awards as they want to share the good news stories with the public and farmers to show that profitable farms, through good land management, and environmental protection are not mutually exclusive.