It’s great to hear a good news story from the farming sector. Here’s one about how the right attitude and a bit of effort is making a big difference for bird life and water quality near the Ohiwa Harbour.
Farmers like Margaret and Michael Kirk of Fairview Farm in Nukuhou believe they’re not just there as owners of the land owners, but also as caregivers. “We aim to leave the land better than we came on to it,” says Margaret.
Farmers Margaret and Michael believe those who are farming upstream have a responsibility to care for the stream to enable those downstream to carry out their activities. The Kirks came from the Hawkes Bay to Fairview Farm in 1989 and soon after ring fenced 70 acres of native bush to exclude stock from the steeper regions of the farm.
“We learnt very quickly that this topography is very challenging. The hills are steep and the soils are light, with no metal at all, and so they are easily washed away,” says Margaret.
Removing the stock and letting the bush regenerate increased the stability of the steeper land and reduced slipping. Less slipping meant that the productive land on the lower slopes, and the stream below, were protected from scouring. “The native bush was not in very good shape when we got here; the top three metres of most of the trees were dead from possum grazing,” says Margaret.
“After the fencing we did a 1080 drop to control the possums and within a year the trees were flourishing and the birdlife flooded back. We now have Shining Cuckoos, Kaka, Grey Warblers, Kereru and flocks of Tui and Bellbirds.”
With financial assistance and advice from Environment Bay of Plenty the Kirks have also fenced the length of the small Horowera Stream that runs through their property, planted the stream sides in native vegetation and have built a new bridge across the stream to keep stock and vehicles out of the stream.
Land Management Officer for Environment Bay of Plenty Malcolm Donald says, “Getting stock out of the streams was our first priority as stock trample stream banks and poo in the water.”
The meanders of the stream have been enhanced and there are small wetlands, which help to absorb flood waters after big rain events and can help reduce scouring of the stream banks. The outer corners of the stream have also been bouldered and planted in tree species that provide protection to the stream banks in flood events.
All of these activities were undertaken to help reduce sediment and nutrient flow into the Horowera Stream, which flows into the Nukuhou Stream and ultimately into the Ohiwa Harbour.
Over the past 15 years the Council had assisted farmers in the Ohiwa Harbour catchment with similar projects, says Malcolm. Nearly half of the farmers along the Nukuhou Stream margins were involved in projects that will, in the long-term, reduce sediment and nutrient flow into the streams and Harbour.
“Water quality is improving in the Nukuhou Stream but there are no quick fixes when it comes to reducing sediment and nutrient flow,” says Malcolm.
There are a lot of farmers out there, like the Kirks, who are really committed to long-term sustainable land management. Families like the Kirks are not doing this to gain prestige or awards – they just see it as the way they should farm and it’s our role to carry on providing advice, education and assistance to them, he says.
Interested in reading more about farming in New Zealand? Click here for The real dirt on dairy farms, by Dave Hansford
