What we do
At RRCC, we monitor water quality, promote biodiversity, advocate sustainable land use and support one another to adopt on-farm changes that increase our resilience whilst at the same time ensuring harmony between human activities and a flourishing environment.
Water quality monitoring
What we do
- RRCC encourages the protection of water quality and promotes sediment management within the Rangitīkei, Turakina, and Whangaehu river catchments.
- Knowing the current water quality and create measures to protect it.
- We know the current state of soil and water resources in a catchment and create measures to protect them.
Monthly water quality monitoring
Water quality monitoring is a strong tool for improving local knowledge of the state of water in a catchment.
Monthly water samples are collected and sent to Central Environment Laboratories (CEL), a government approved agency.
There are currently nearly 90 testing sites across 23 RRCC sub-catchment groups. Samples are tested for nitrate, soluble inorganic nitrogen, dissolved reactive phosphorous, turbidity, and E.coli.
Three to five years of consistent monitoring is required before in-depth analysis is undertaken. This helps to identify trends in water quality with greater accuracy and identify water bodies that need further investigation.
Macroinvertebrate sampling
Macroinvertebrates are an important indicator of stream health. Sampling is carried once a year, when funding is available. Macroinvertebrates are strong indicators of good water quality.
Macroinvertebrates are sensitive to many kinds of pollution, including chemical pollution, and physical disturbance to land and water.
Analysis of macroinvertebrate samples is expensive, and RRCC is seeking funding to continue this type of analysis.
Samples are collected at 51 of the existing water monitoring sites to ensure consistency. Cawthron Institute has been contracted to undertake the analysis.
Freshwater compliance
RRCC is guiding our members through freshwater compliance requirements and industry quality assurance standards. With funding from MPI and MFE, RRCC is running a series of workshops to help farmers meet their freshwater farm plan requirements and the New Zealand Farm Assurance Programme Plus (NZFAP+) industry standards to improve access to markets overseas.
Intensive winter grazing
RRCC is guiding our members through new intensive winter grazing rules. In conjunction with Beef & Lamb NZ we have run a series of workshops.
Enhancing biodiversity
What we do
RRCC is seeking funding support for these environmental restoration projects:
- Whio (blue duck) protection and restoration
- Dwarf Glaxiid native fish protection and restoration
- Native bush remnant protection
Pest animal and weed control
RRCC is helping landowners and its members to enhance biodiversity on their properties.
RRCC was awarded three years of funding from the Ministry for Primary Industries Jobs for Nature fund for the removal of Old Man’s Beard (OMB). This pest weed smothers indigenous bush remnants and threatens planted riparian areas across the RRCC catchment area. OMB requires substantial inputs to stop it from spreading. Allowed to spread at its current rate, entire native bush blocks in our catchment will be decimated.
RRCC is seeking ongoing funding support for important projects, including Old Man’s Beard control in private native bush blocks.
Catchment communities
What we do
RRCC creates a supportive and safe catchment environment where different people from rural and urban communities connect to create a vision of how they want their future catchment to look.
- RRCC facilitates thriving catchment communities.
- We are future-focused, ensuring sustainability for future generations.
- Catchment communities are stronger and more resilient when everyone works together, building their individual successes into a strong connected group environment.
Connecting with communities
RRCC provides a platform to bring whole communities together including iwi, schools, urban and rural community groups, farmers and rural professionals. Providing regular community engagement, social, and knowledge sharing opportunities.
Supporting local
Community halls and facilities are used as venues for workshops, meetings and social events. Sourcing local services and employing local people.
Sustainable land use
What we do
- RRCC promotes and educates to increase resilient farming.
- We are helping farmers with farm planning by encouraging a better understanding of their farm resources, identifying risks to freshwater, and producing action plans to implement sustainable management practices.”
Discovering our environmental footprint
RRCC have put over 120 of our members farms through the Overseer scientific model that estimates how nutrients are cycled within a farm system.
Improving farm integrity
RRCC has been awarded funding from Ministry for Primary Industries to introduce Integrated Farm Plans (IFP) to members. This is a whole farm plan that integrates industry quality assurance programme standards, such as New Zealand Farm Assurance Programme Plus (NZFAP+) and freshwater farm plan compliance requirement in one document. RRCC aims to reduce the duplication of information farmers face to achieve both requirements.
Government’s package of regulations introduced in 2020 to protect freshwater require all farms over 20 ha and horticultural farms over 5 ha to have a Freshwater Farm Plan by 2025 (Horizons region).
Red Meat Industry Quality Assurances standards are intended to give confidence to overseas markets that New Zealand food and fibre produce is safe and farmed in an ethical manner.
Partner with us
Looking to support a cause focused on helping the river catchment environment?
We have ambitions goals to help Rangitīkei, Turakina, and Whangaehu river catchment communities improve economic and environmental performance and restore their pride in the food and fibre sector. There is always more we could do; we are keen to partner with organisations that enable us to expand our projects and ensure catchment groups have the support and resources they need to achieve their long-term goals.
