Richard Hilson, chairman of Tukituki Land Care, speaking at the official launch earlier this year.
Richard Hilson, chairman of Tukituki Land Care, speaking at the official launch earlier this year.
Tukituki Land Care has announced the recipients of its inaugural $10,000 Demonstration Grants.
Twelve Tukituki sub-catchment groups have been awarded $10,000 each to fund projects with demonstration value. These grants offer an opportunity to trial something new while gaining valuable knowledge which can be shared and replicated across the region.
“We were thrilled to support such a diverse range of projects across much of Central Hawke’s Bay,” says Richard Hilson, chairman of Tukituki Land Care. “We are excited to see the impact these projects will have and the knowledge they will generate for the broader Tukituki community and even further afield.”
The chosen projects encompass a range of initiatives, from land management practices and weed control to water quality improvement and community engagement strategies.
“These are catchment-specific projects as a result of genuine community engagement, which is a novel approach for the wider Tukituki waterway,” says Hilson.
Once completed, knowledge sharing with other catchments will be a priority, this may include an open day for other landowners to view and learn from the project.
“We emphasise the importance of transparency, ensuring that failures are also openly reported, allowing for valuable insights to be gained,” says Hilson.
● Upper Tukituki Corridor - collective learning with a high level assessment of current issues and potential future risks of this section of the Tukituki River
Greg Hart from the Mangarara catchment says he was thrilled to hear that their application had been accepted.
“It has been awesome to get all the farmers on the Mangarara catchment together to talk about the issues for the Mangarara stream,” says Greg.
“Thanks to the support of Tukituki Land Care, our group will work with experts to increase our knowledge and develop a plan around erosion control and silt retention. We will then develop a demonstration site where observations can be made to gauge success of mitigation methods employed.”
The Kahahkuri catchment group was keen to work together to find practical solutions and encourage changes within the catchment that benefit the stream.
“Cow cress is a growing problem in our catchment,” says Kahahkuri farmer Andy Gunson.
“This grant will enable us to develop a multipronged management plan to identify alternative methods to control this invasive weed in our waterways.”
Tukituki Land Care launched in May this year to support sub-catchment groups of the Tukituki River, enabling funding and action to benefit the region. In June, they opened applications for their $10,000 Demonstration Grants and each sub-catchment group of the Tukituki River was invited to apply.
For more information about Tukituki Land Care and updates on the progress of the demonstration projects, visit www.tukitukilandcare.org or follow them on Facebook at Tukituki Land Care.
