Erosion control planting lifts off

Willow poles flown on to a Wairarapa hill country farm.

Erosion control planting is well under way with the first of the season's bundles of poplar and willow poles flown onto Wairarapa hill country farms recently.

Greater Wellington Regional Council's Land Management team will see 30,000 trees put in over the next four months as they work alongside landowners on erosion control programmes aiming to reduce sediment loss to waterways, keep topsoil on the land, prevent land slips and to moderate flood risk.

"The season is on target, with recent rain softening the ground enough to begin operations.

The full order book tells us that farmers' confidence is returning and our planting teams are prepared for an extremely busy winter planting season ahead," said Scott Ihaka, Land Management team leader.

Poplar and willow planting programmes are a core part of erosion control operations.

GWRC has been committed to growing species for the region's specific soils and climatic conditions through the Akura Conservation Centre for over 30 years.

The centre grows a range of trees for erosion control planting, shelter belt, wood lot and forestry, as well as supplying a range of native and regionally eco-sourced plants, trees and grasses for restoration, commercial and residential planting.

Greater Wellington Regional Council administers the Ministry for Primary Industries' Hill Country Erosion Fund (HCEF) regionally and will allocate $1.15 million over the next four years through the Wellington Regional Erosion Control Initiative (WRECI).

Criteria for WRECI funding extended last year to include all high priority erosion prone land across the Wairarapa hill country and the Ruamahanga River catchment.

- Nationally* annual costs associated with hill country erosion are estimated at $100 million to $150m from loss of soil and nutrients, lost production, damage to houses, fences, roads, phone, and power lines, damage to waterways.

- Heavy rain and other adverse weather events can increase the risk of erosion in the hill country. Erosion leads to flooding, which in turn can devastate farm production. Under heavy rainfall, up to 10 per cent of erosion-prone land under pasture can be lost.

- https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/88m-erosion-grants-awarded.