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Kavinda Herath/Stuff
Coastal scientist Nuwan Alexandrio and lower Aparima farmer John White check out the Jacobs River Estuary.
After a three-year water quality project the Southland farmers who led it have celebrated with an exploration of Jacobs River Estuary where they showcased their work.
The Aparima Community Environment project was started by a group of concerned catchment leaders who wanted to mobilise farmers, landowners and the wider community to improve the water quality in their rohe.
The large-scale project involved farmers, land managers, extension experts and scientists who worked together to identify, implement and track environmental actions across a wide range of farming properties and land uses.
They were encouraging good farming practice principles on 600 properties in the catchment, 218 of which were dairy farms, aiming to enhance water quality for future generations.
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On Friday after three years of work the group got together to celebrate their mahi, enjoy an evening of networking and showcase their project workstreams.
Several projects have been undertaken across the six catchment groups from building sediment traps, exploring future farm systems, making farm environment plans, and implementing good farming practice, to lifting farmer and community awareness and engagement through stream walks and water testing.
EDWIN MABONGA/Supplied
Aparima Community Environment project is celebrating after 3 years of tracking the Aparima catchment’s environment.
At the estuary, Environment Southland scientist Nuwan Alexandrio showed the gathered sediment samples from the various parts of the estuary to demonstrate the differences in its health.
There was discussion around seagrass loss, ways to remediate estuary environments, and the impacts of sea level rise.
Lower Aparima farmer and one of the group’s leaders John White said the Jacobs River Estuary was the most important receiving environment in the Aparima area.
“This is what’s most visual and most used by the community as well as for water sports and kai.”
Kavinda Herath/Stuff
The Aparima rural community are learning about the function and health of the Jacobs River Estuary.
Together, they were focused on capturing sediment and nutrients on farm, through the likes of sediment traps and reducing nutrient loss, but everyone had a role to play, he said.
Thriving Southland senior catchment co-ordinator Rachael Halder said the latest updates and insights from the project’s workstreams were going to be presented at the Ōtautau Connect Centre where the group were holding the second part of their celebrations.
A video on the Aparima catchment work was also being released at the event, she said.
“From the mountains to the sea, you’ll witness the amazing initiatives shaping our catchment, and a fly over of the full catchment.”
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