Farm dams offer chance to create wetland paradise

Ewan McGregor, left, at one of the farm dams he replenished into a wetland area in the 1970s. Photo / Paul Taylor

Hawke's Bay farmer and former regional councillor Ewan McGregor is hoping to gather further national support for his "vision" to turn old farm dams into small wetlands.

"It's an idea I've had for a few years and I thought it's finally time to put it into action," he told Heartland.

He spoke to the Federated Farmers' national council in Wellington last week, where he generated a positive response, and said New Zealand was "covered" in thousands of farm dams that potentially could be transformed to create new wetland areas.

"Ninety per cent of New Zealand's wetlands have been lost and drained for farmland. Even if 10 per cent of dams could be replenished, that's 1000s of wetlands."

He said dams around the country that could be fenced off, protected from livestock, and planted with native trees, creating a new ecological and environmental area.

"The benefits would reach organisations such as Fish and Game as they provided a duck habitat, the Department of Conservation, while also providing a stepping stone for native birds to move around the landscape."

He said over time the progressive subdivision of farms into ever smaller paddocks created a greater need to provide stock water which led to the construction of small dams.

This was greatly facilitated following World War II with the availability of bulldozers, leading to thousands of farm dams constructed around the country.

Later the availability of the great farming and horticultural aid, polythene pipe, made many of these dams unnecessary, but they have remained as a back-up supply, or for duck shooting.

He said because many the dams are no longer required as a water source for livestock, they are perfect for an ecological project.

"The environmental factors are obvious, there will be better water quality, farmers will lose fewer stock from drowning near the dams, and the dam will serve the farm for a far longer period of time.

"There will also be more recreational opportunity, especially duck shooting, and added farm value."

He said he also hoped to get schools involved in what he described as a "10-year vision".

"I want to get country schools involved. They can find a friendly farmer with an accessible dam and the kids can adopt it as the school wetland, plant trees around it and watch it grow and develop."

Mr McGregor also envisaged setting up a voluntary trust, similar to the Queen Elizabeth II National Trust, to develop, help fund and raise sponsorship towards the wetlands project.

Mr McGregor was a long-serving Hawke's Bay regional councillor.