Kaipara Moana Remediation has again partnered with Conservation Volunteers New Zealand for a successful native planting day – this time on an award-winning South Head Farm.

Webber Family Farm, owned and operated by Ross and Eleanore Webber, was Regional Supreme Winner of Auckland Ballance Farm Environment Award in 2019.

KMR Pou Tātaki Justine Daw says the planting day was significant as KMR nears having two million trees in the ground in only two and a half years. At the end of June, 1.88 million plants were already in the ground or contracted to plant this winter.

Justine says it is also fitting the planting day followed on from Youth Skills Day this month given KMR has trained 115 people in the past year alone, many of whom were young people from local hapū and communities. KMR is very proud to support a number of initiatives that grow technical skills and capability, with a focus on supporting the next generation of rural professionals into nature-facing careers.

“Planting days like these are as much about showcasing restoration concepts and methods - showing how this type of on-the-ground restoration can be achieved – as they are about sharing knowledge with the wider community. Showing people the way really unlocks the potential of our communities and increases the number of groups who really understand the kaupapa and are confident enough to do it themselves.

“Projects like Ross and Eleanore’s are living examples of really great sediment reduction initiatives with multiple agencies contributing. We are all in this together, so it is great to be able to celebrate best practice and be mobilising the community to support the important projects going on right across the 600,000-hectare Kaipara Moana catchment throughout Auckland and Northland.

Justine says a large number of people in South Head are taking action for the good of the environment and the Moana itself, KMR is looking forward to doing more work to support them. Part of this is working with and through local partners such as Conservation Volunteers New Zealand.

Landowners Ross and Eleanore Webber are stoked to be working with KMR as they have been an advocate of protecting the Kaipara Harbour for decades. The husband and wife team were pleased to add another 3661 stems to their latest project with the help of CVNZ and KMR. In total, the Webbers will plant 20,061 sedges, rushes, plants and trees in partnership with KMR on their 200ha (135ha fully effective) beef breeding unit.

“The people at KMR are awesome. They have been fizzing to get in here and get planting. We need to get more people on board with KMR because the more of this sort of work we all do, the better off our environment will be in the long-term and that’s great for the entire country and our wider communities,” says Ross.

“Decades ago, I was given the opportunity to be the guardian of this farm which was very humbling. Eleanore and I have worked hard since then to fence off waterways and wetlands and gradually plant them out. This partnership with KMR is very special as it gets us closer to completing what we set out to do.

“We have a 29ha QEII National Trust covenant which dates back 20 years and the area we have planted with KMR support has also had QEII support in the form of deer proof fencing to keep feral deer away from the natives. We have made a point of fencing off any parts of the farm we deemed uneconomic, so we have around 15 blocks on the farm protected and planted with natives, which total 40ha. With KMR we will end up with another 10ha on top of that.”

CVNZ Regional Manager Kiri Huddleston says she is delighted with the turnout at the joint event with KMR in South Head where well over 50 volunteers helped plant.

“It’s fantastic to see so many volunteers out from the community helping restore the precious mauri of the Kaipara Moana,” says Kiri.

“We’re really pleased to have been able to support both KMR and their landowners this winter with their planting efforts and it has been a joy to see the community get behind the initiative.

“We hope we have helped connect people with nature and each other, highlighted the importance of native restoration plantings and spread the word of the amazing work going on in this space. We look forward to working with KMR going forward and continuing to support their important mahi.

“CVNZ holds this part of Tāmaki Makaurau close to its heart as we have been working on a restoration project at Te Ātiu Creek for over a decade through which we have grown and planted over 150,000 native plants with the help of thousands of volunteers (both locally and internationally). If you’re interested in getting involved check out our website for upcoming events – we’d love to have you there!”

Justine encourages landowners and groups in the Kaipara Moana catchment to join the nearly 700 farmers, hapū, whānau, marae, catchment groups and community groups already benefitting from KMR support.

To find out more about how to start a KMR project, send an email to hono@kmr.org.nz

Note: 

On 9 October 2020, the Ministry for the Environment, Ngā Maunga Whakahii o Kaipara, Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Whātua, Te Uri o Hau, Northland Regional Council and Auckland Council signed a Memorandum of Understanding to jointly establish KMR, a decade-long programme.

The projects KMR invests in bring wider benefits including thriving rural communities and enhanced connection to local waterways, greater protection for valued species, and resilience to extreme weather.

By the end of winter 2024 - just two and a half years since the first tree was planted through the programme - KMR will have supported the planting of more than two million trees and other plants.

The Kaipara Moana has unique – and nationally important – values

The Kaipara is the largest natural harbour in the Southern Hemisphere, and a place of global significance.

As the ‘nursery’ for several fish species, the Kaipara also has unique, national economic value. For example, snapper is New Zealand’s top commercial inshore fishery, creating export revenue of around $35m a year and contributing $69m to the economy and 579 jobs each year. However, sediments from the land are putting both the Kaipara Moana and the fishery at risk.

KMR aims to protect and restore the mauri of the Kaipara Moana, with the long-term aspiration to halve sediment flows into the harbour.

Key KPIs

The programme-life-to-date Key Performance Indicators as at 30 June 2024 – which reflect programme delivery 2.5 years months into full operational delivery – demonstrate continued progress in scaling up, driven in part by KMR’s new investments in erodible hill country driving growth:

Jobs & Skills

· 57 people trained as KMR Field Advisors – many from local iwi/hapū

· New work created in rural communities – a year’s work for >180 people

· >$17.6m support for sediment reduction projects, sustaining local, nature-based employment

Engagement & Participation

· KMR has engaged with more than half of the pastoral landowners in the catchment

· 1011 landowners havesubmitted an Expressionof Interest toKMR

· 693 co-funded project plans have been developed with landowners

· >100 schools, hapū, marae and community groups have been engaged

· Over 75 projects led by collectives or groups are completed, underway or in development

Nature

· >1.88 million plants in the ground or contracted to plant this winter

· >479 hectares of planting has been completed or contracted

· >800km of fencing has been completed or contracted (the same distance as from Cape Rēinga to Napier)

· Nearly 130,000 hectares are managed under KMR plans.

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