Back to Blog

Initiative connects farmers with experts to improve planning

...

Autumn Newsletter

We hope 2024 has been treating you well so far, and that you've had the chance to soak up the warm weather and holiday cheer since our last update.Big thanks to everyone who joined us at our recent events – we loved having you there! And with plenty more coming up, be sure to jot them down in your calendar so you don't miss out on the fun. Keep an eye out for updates on our Facebook page!...

Christmas Update 🎄

As we approach the end of another impactful year, I want to say a big thank you to everyone who has supported Taranaki Catchment Communities. Your commitment has been crucial in shaping a more sustainable future that embraces environmental responsibility, economic growth and community collaboration....

Taranaki Catchment Community celebrates environmental award win

At this year’s Taranaki Regional Council Environmental Awards, at an awards ceremony held in New Plymouth on Wednesday 15 November, Taranaki Catchment Communities (TCC) were one of eight winners recognised for their outstanding efforts to protect and restore Taranaki’s precious taiao (natural environment).Taranaki Catchment Communities took home the 2023 award for Environmental Action in Water Quality Improvement, for taking action to protect and enhance water quality and biodiversity v...

Spring Newsletter

Welcome to our spring newsletter. Isn’t it wonderful to have a bit more sun in the mornings and evenings. It’s been a busy winter and calving/lambing season for many and I know from the chats I’ve been having with many of you, that it’s a relief to have the end in sight. Taranaki Catchment Communities continues to be active in your local community and it’s great that there are such well attended events across our region. We profile a few of these in the newsletter and hope you can make...

Media release: Save energy on-farm: It just makes sense Project underway

The Taranaki Catchment Communities led-project: Save Energy on-farm: It just makes sense got underway on Friday 13 October with a farm and agirbusiness advisors workshop. ...

TCC First Newsletter Released!

Welcome our first newsletter covering the amazing work of our communities across Taranaki. We are really excited to share what’s been happening across the Taranaki region, through our catchment groups and Taranaki Catchment Communities (TCC).We’ve now been running for more than two years and the impact our catchment communities are having is incredible. We’ve seen communities come back together for a common purpose, increasing collaboration between many organisations, skilled people c...

Hero activity – Tarata Generational Farming video

The catchment groups are doing great mahi out in Taranaki, and we need to make sure we capture the storytelling of our journey. We have commissioned local videographer, Mark Dwyer, to create a series of short videos that captures what our groups are doing, as well as highlighting the positive aspects of farming. In this video we are looking at how each generation brings a different approach to farming, and how we learn and grow as a result. Thanks to the Coogan and Hocken clan in Tarata for taki...

Hero activity – LiDAR reporting

Matt Highway from Element Environmental presented a workshop on what LiDAR is, and the role it plays in establishing the use of it too:·         Undertake desktop critical source and flow path analysis.·         Identify locations and potential types of interventions throughout the entire catchment.·         Using data layers and risk mapping, map the most likely contaminant...

Hero activity – Well Being Workshops with Paul Rangiwahia

Several catchment groups hosted Paul Rangiwahia who talked about dealing with stress as part of a wellbeing collaboration with Rural Support Trust. Feedback from those that attended was positive and there were some great conversations had as a result.  Without farmers and growers having stable wellbeing then it is very difficult to focus on other activities that are planned for the farm.  TCC have seen this as a priority, especially with the continuing adverse weather events having an ...

Hero activity – Creation of Urenui/Mimi/Uruti Catchment Group

Urenui/Mimi/Uriti group has been established with the first meeting held at Camp Okoki on Sunday 15th January and a committee formed.  From here will be discussions around project proposals, with the first agenda item being what to do with the Okoki Hall which is on NPDC land. TCC was the facilitator for this meeting and the decision is to get an inspection done first to see if saving it is a viable before any further actions undertaken.  Maria Lempriere is the lead farmer/co-ordi...

Progress Report - Milestone 5

1.0 Progress update1.1 Update from the Chairperson – Milestone5Another milestone has ticked by incredibly fast.  Taranaki Catchment Communities continues to add value around the region. Technology through LiDAR will support more accurate catchment planning and identifying edge of field techniques supporting reduction of nutrients to water.  This will give us far more accuracy.  Water usage, effluent mapping/management, and technology to identify water leaks is also beginnin...

Hero Activity - Strategy Meeting

TCC engaged Dr Scott Champion to facilitate a one-day workshop in Stratford on Tuesday 7th February in Stratford. The purpose of the workshop was to further the development and focus of Taranaki Catchment Communities (TCC) and its constituent groups by considering:1.       Impact through what we have nowa.       How might we best support existing groups?b.       How do we improve what we do?c.  &n...

Hero activity – Taranaki Agritech Conference and Expo

As part of Techweek, TCC partnered with Venture Taranaki to host the Taranaki Agritech Conference and Expo. This event was held at the Stratford War Memorial Centre on Wednesday 18 May and was supported by Callaghan Innovation and Baker Tilly Staples Rodway.More than 100 people attended the event throughout the day which was a mix of presentations from local experts and exhibits from agritech producing firms. The presentations covered high level topics, such as Why Agritech?, how to make the fin...

Hero activity – Patea River Pest Control/Trapping Workshop

The Patea River Catchment group held a pest control and trapping workshop at the Ōhuarai Pā i te kohu in Alton.  The group intend to bring kiwi back to the Patea River area, but first need to establish a predator free corridor to ensure their survival. This was a collaborative workshop - Kiwi Trust presented on the importance of this project, the Taranaki Regional Council presented on what they are doing to assist, and the main speaker, Rawiri Walsh, presented on types of predators, traps...

Hero activity – Mangamingi/Makuri/Waitotara Dung Beetle Workshop

Livestock in New Zealand produce an estimated 100 million tonnes of manure a year.  Most sits from weeks to months unrendered on pastures or washes into our waterways resulting in poor water quality.  Dung beetles represent a low cost, significant, self-sustainable tool deployed across pastoral land to improve water quality by 80% in addition to improving soil health, soil conservation, carbon sequestration and pastoral productivity.Mangamingi, Makuri and Waitotara groups engaged Dr. S...

Hero activity – Awatuna/Auroa Palmerston North visit

The Awatuna/Auroa Farming for the Future catchment group went down to Palmerston North during this milestone. They were supported by  Taranaki DairyNZ who helped organise this with us and for going down with and had a representative who travelled with the groups. They visited the Fonterra Research & Development centre where a major theme was how what we do on farm affects the markets Fonterra can access = grass fed milk! They visited AgResearch who are working on methane and how we migh...

Hero activity – Waingongoro Freshwater Monitor Training

The Waingongoro Catchment group held a freshwater testing day hosted by Alastair Cole.  One of the benchmark activities carried out by this group is to create a baseline of the stream quality along 15 sites in the Waingongoro Catchment area.  This will be done in conjunction with the Massey University lead project to establish edge of field technologies that will reduce the impact of farm managed activities on the freshwater system....

Hero Activity - Aotearoa Marae hui with Ōkahu-Inuāwai

Engagement of the community is one of the strategic focus areas of this project and it is important to maintain this level of community support.  Massey University are about to engage with an ‘edge of field’ research project in the Waingongoro catchment. TCC engaged with the local hapū as the first steps in engagement.  This event created a series of actions and project ideas and detailed the role TCC should have to support progress towards farmer lead initiatives.In addition to t...

Progress report - Milestone 4

In May 2021, Taranaki Catchment Communities was created as an Incorporated Society looking to lead, engage and mobilise Taranaki’s rural sector in the face of mounting legislative changes.In the one and a half years since TCC was formed, TCC has established 13 community catchment groups all around Mt. Taranaki. It’s had more than 1000 farmers attend community events and committed almost 5,000 volunteer hours to support a range of initiatives. List of key activities since the contra...

Welcome from the Chair

I am Donna Cram, a dairy farmer, Dairy Environment  Leader (DEL), member of the DEL national advisory, (a DairyNZ lead initiative) and a Taranaki Federated Farmers Dairy committee member. My why is to  connect people across agricultural communities using values-based communication to empower positive and meaningful change. Alongside my husband, Philip, we see ourselves as guardians of our Dairy Farm, Wylam Dene. We also understand  that we are interdependent with our communit...