Ngā mea e āhei ai te tangata
What you can do
Improving the health of our awa takes a lot of hard work, resources and time however if everyone works together we can make lasting change. If you want to play your part too, there are lots of things you can do to get involved.
This website has been created to be a hub for our community and a place where you can learn more about our awa. Explore the website to learn more about our environment and the things being done to protect it. You can also check out our environmental education page to find out about education programmes in your area and get resources. Awareness is key and an easy way to get started is to join the conversation, stay in the loop with what’s going on, and help spread the word. The Manawatū River has Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter pages if you’re doing something to help the river, see something interesting, or have a story about the awa, share them with the Manawatū River community using the #loveyourriver or #manawaturiver.
There are a lot of things that you can do at home to be more environmentally friendly such as reducing your amount of single-use plastic and using phosphate free laundry and dishwashing detergents. Another thing you can do is wash your car on the lawn, that way the runoff is filtered through the earth rather than flowing directly into a stormwater drain. These drains enter urban stormwater systems and ultimately the river so help keep harmful chemicals out of them.
Ready for more? There are a lot of community groups active in the catchment working to protect and enhance the river, contact us at info@manawaturiver.co.nz and we can help connect you with them. Catchment care groups such as the ones in Ōroua and Mangone West are already well established and undertake projects on a regular basis. If you’re interested in starting your own project here is a guide to community stream restoration to get you started. You can also contact us directly for advice and potential funding opportunities – there is $100,000 of available funding for community projects every year. This year’s funding has just been allocated however it’s a great time to get started on your application for next year. Find out more on our community funding page.
If you are a landowner there is funding and other assistance available to help you make your land more sustainable and protect the waterways. A good place to start is by contacting Horizons Regional Council about the Sustainable Land Use Initiative (SLUI), call freephone 0508 800 800 or email help@horizons.govt.nz. The initiative is the largest regional programme to address hill country erosion in New Zealand. Through the programme you will get expert advice and support and Horizons will work with you to identify risks and problem areas, and to develop strategies to address them. These can include poplar pole planting, riparian management, fencing and land retirement, pest control and habitat protection, best practice effluent management, and more with expert advice and planning available every step of the way. So far 70% of the erodible land in the catchment is now being managed with a SLUI farm plan, and it is modelled that even if work stopped in 2018, the work already completed will lead to an 11 per cent reduction in annual sediment load in the river by 2043.
Check out the quick reference guide to things you can start with below and get in touch to find out more. If everyone makes an effort to protect our river we can help it to thrive for generations to come.
