Thursday, March 28, 2024

Farmers crowdfund water upgrades

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Farmers on spring-fed creeks and riversides in central Canterbury are part of a national crowdfunding drive for riparian planting.
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The Million Metres project wants to raise $56,000 by the end of July so Selwyn dairy farmers Nathan and Jamie Fridd can plant 875 metres of natives. 

The Fridds are in a group of 30 landowners raising money online for native planting.

Million Metres project leader Georgina Hart, whose group is managing the fundraising, said about half of its projects are on private land but that will soon increase with 15km of planting planned for the margins of Northern Wairoa River in Northland.

Despite Selwyn being a focus of national dirty dairying attention, this is the first time Million Metres has crowdfunded riparian planting in the area.

The Fridds’ farm borders Silverstream, the confluence of three lowland waterways feeding into the Selwyn River near Springston, south of Christchurch. 

The couple want to revitalise the area for swimming and fishing by planting 2040 native trees and other plants. At least eight farms in the spring-fed country around the Fridds’ farm are doing their own fencing and riparian projects.

The couple especially want to see reduced bacteria flowing into nearby Coes Ford, a popular swimming spot blighted by high bacterial readings and low flows in recent years. 

The Water and Wildlife Habitat charitable trust and Environment Canterbury will help the Fridds turn a waterway that was previously managed like a drain into a thriving, living stream. 

The plan is to reshape banks into a more natural shape and use boulders, wood and gravel to recreate pools and riffles.

Water and Wildlife expects to see more native fish and more spawning trout at the site. It expects plants growing by the water will be shaded by the grasses and tall forest. The shade will cool the water and stop problem water weeds, removing the need for diggers in the stream.

Million Metres, backed by Sustainable Business Network firms, government agencies and organisations, estimates the Fridds’ planting will cost $64 a metre, including planning and labour.

The $56,000 fundraising goal includes the costs of preparing the site for planting, the plants and planting and maintenance to ensure the plants thrive. 

Fifteen percent of the money raised goes to Million Metres to help cover website administration and fundraising support costs. 

The site is due to be planted in spring 2018 or autumn 2019 if funding allows. Maintenance will be done over three years to give the best chance of survival

Farmers and environmental groups agree the health of the Selwyn and its catchment has declined over the past 30 years.

Million Metres says the river supported a run of brown trout from 25,000 fish in the early 1960s but carries only about 500 today. Climate change, water takes and land intensification have contributed to this, including a loss of habitat in spawning areas such as Silverstream.

Canterbury dairy farm owner Tom Mason is one of DairyNZ’s environment leaders, a group helping farmers improve water quality and interact more with councils, environmental groups and schools, among others.

The Fridds and neighbouring farmers are doing a great job but they could probably do just as well on a lot less than the Rolls Royce Million Metres budget, he said.

The key is to get fencing and the buffer of rank grass in the right place as part of a stock exclusion policy. The Fridds will get a good result but it will take a lot of resources. 

“You can have 90% of the result with 10% of the effort.”

The Canterbury Water report for Silverstream said easy gains include buffering potential entry points, hot wire and long grass, complete fencing of drains and wider buffers in some places.

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