Going for gold!
The Waikawa Catchment Group is very passionate about their local river and have undertaken a range of projects recently to protect and enhance the special local values. Erosion mitigation work is being undertaken as part of the Integrated Catchment Management Plan (a living, aspirational document prepared by the wider catchment community along with stakeholders like the Waikawa Catchment Group). Analysis to understand erosion risk and mitigation options was carried out by Land and Water Science and 7 case-study projects are currently being completed which aim to mitigate erosion in the catchment. This work is funded by the Ministry for the Environment (MfE) and supported by Environment Southland.
One project site is at the old ‘Dog Dosing Strip’ alongside Manse Road, a streatch of river not too far from Mangai Piri | Niagara Falls. Planting was undertaken along a portion of the stream on 5 May to help link remnants of kōwhai-ribbonwood forest, which is an originally rare ecosystem in the area and much reduced today. There a lot of potential to restore this catchment and a lot of eagerness in the community to stuck in.
Posted on: Friday, 30 May 2025
