Our Water
New rules on water can make land owners feel defensive but one council is experimenting with collaboration.
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Blocks working for water quality
Swannanoa is half an hour northwest of Christchurch.
It’s bordered by the 152km-long Waimakariri River which runs from high in the Southern Alps, down to the Canterbury shoreline.
It’s also popular. There are over 4500 lifestyle blocks from 1-20ha in the Waimakariri region, and over 280 large farms.
As part of developing new regulations to protect water quality, regional council Environment Canterbury ran a special project targeting block owners. While individual blocks are not significant contributors to water quality issues in the area, collectively they do have an impact.
“It was about lifting people’s awareness and showing they can make a contribution,” says Waimakariri Zone Manager Andrew Arps. “We want to show them that some of their activities can collectively contribute, things like animal fencing and access to waterways. Sometimes people are a little bit relaxed about it, but you get three, four properties in a row like that and all of a sudden you’ve got half a dozen stock with access to that water.”
The pilot project covered a wide range of topics including animal welfare, riparian planting, waterways, pasture growth, feed requirements and fertiliser use.
Participants Daniel and Michelle Power say they gained fresh insight into best management practices for their land and would encourage other lifestyle block owners to join future workshops.
“We were both surprised at how much we got out of it and we could easily keep going every week. Sharing knowledge is really the key to growing and developing new skills.”
Andrew Arps says it was important for block owners to know that working to help water quality wasn’t necessarily about doing huge amounts of work.
“It’s more about better practices, a different approach that needs a bit more commitment sometimes, and sometimes a change in behaviour.”
The project asked for block owners to volunteer to take part in sessions together and that was a bonus says Daniel.
“It’s great to take the time to really look at what you’re doing and to have the opportunity to meet regularly with other block owners. Even though we’re a small drop in the bucket, everything counts when it comes to the environment.”
Daniel and Michelle were reassured to discover that their regular soil testing programme is helping them to get the best use of their 8ha (20 acre) block.
“It was also interesting to learn more about nitrogen loss and irrigation.
“One thing we’re doing differently now is graphing all of our soil test results so we can see if there are any trends developing over time. Doing the soil
testing makes sense because it gives you the facts you need to make decisions about what to use on your land.”
Soil testing is well worth the investment as it saves you money long term. It also gives you data on whether you need to apply fertiliser to your land.
“Having the evidence to back up your actions is really important,” says Daniel. “And it’s better for the environment too.”
During the final workshop session participants used Environment Canterbury’s farm portal to access an overview of information relating to their property and put a lifestyle block management plan together.
Daniel and Michelle say they found it valuable to be able to access all the information relating to their property using the portal and have since developed a plan for their lifestyle block.
“Being able to see all the information at a glance is really useful and now we have a plan to get the best use out of our lifestyle block with the aim of making it as sustainable as possible.”
One of the goals of the water strategy for the entire region was to show block owners that it’s all about a collaborative approach, says Andrew Arps.
“Yes, people have varying views, but the reality is the goals that people want to achieve are reasonably close.”
Daniel and Michelle are firm believers in environmental responsibility and believe everyone has a part to play.
“Being able to show our children how to take care of the land and for them to be able to grow their own vegetables and raise animals is really valuable.”
They hope that all land owners will take reflect on their environemental impact.
“It’s important for all of us to take responsibility for the environment as we want to protect it for future generations to enjoy.”