Council team boosted
Hawke’s Bay Regional Council has boosted the team based in the Waipawa office to work with landowners and their managers on catchment management work.
“The key areas of focus for the team are being a key point of contact for the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council locally, and also providing advice and support for sustainable land management practices and the Tukituki Plan implementation,” says Dean Evans, the new manager of HBRC’s southern integrated catchment management (ICM) team.
“Our aim is to support landowners in the district to prepare for the future, by understanding their long term property vision and goals and by providing options to help them reach them sustainably.”
Dean Evans has recently joined Hawke’s Bay Regional Council to manage this team. He has a substantial background working with land management, biodiversity, biosecurity and regulations with local and regional councils, MPI, forestry companies and DoC.
The team will be familiar to most Central Hawke’s Bay landowners. Team leader Warwick Hesketh and team members Maddy McLean and Paul Train have worked with farmers as land management advisers. Joining the integrated team is Dean Roughton who was previously in the council’s biosecurity team, and has worked with PCA groups and contractors for some years.
The Waipawa office in Ruataniwha St will soon have a part-time administration support person available at set hours during the day, but Dean Evans says the rest of the ICM team will mostly be out engaging with landowners.
“People are welcome to contact us for advice, to discuss potential funding opportunities, or to discuss the merits of a oneon-one discussion with one of the catchment advisers on site.”
The regional council’s website will be live in December with a new format which includes a “farmer’s hub”. This will help landowners and the public to find advice and links to essential websites much more quickly.