Northland Regional Council environmental management committee chairman Joe Carr (left) and land management adviser Wayne Teal inspect stock at the council's poplar and willow nursery near Whangarei.
Thousands of poplar "poles" are being sold cheap by Northland Regional Council to help control erosion and protect the region's waterways.
The council has about 5000 three-metre poplar poles available shortly to qualifying landowners to plant along waterways across the region.
The council sells the poles, which usually retail for
more than $8.50 each, for $5 provided landowners agree to a farm water quality improvement planting plan to ensure the trees are planted appropriately and future maintenance is allowed for.
Joe Carr, who chairs the council's Environmental Management Committee, a farmer who uses his own poplar stocks extensively across his land, said they have been used widely in Northland for many years to prevent and control erosion, nutrient losses and cut waterway pollution.
"Poplars and willows have broad root systems that help bind soil and prevent erosion and as a council we've long promoted their use both as part of our soil conservation and water quality work with the community," Mr Carr said.
