Bonuses from environmental hotspot campaign in Hawke's Bay

Shane Gilmer and Anna Madarasz-Smith work to remove invasive tubeworm from the Ahuriri Estuary late last year.

A plan to spend $1 million kick-starting six environmental hot spot projects in Hawke's Bay has had some unexpected bonuses for the Hawke's Bay Regional Council (HBRC).

HBRC identified the hot spots in its annual plan last year and allocated $1 million towards undertaking freshwater improvement work in each of the areas. The six hot spot areas are Lake Tutira, Ahuriri Estuary, Whakaki Lake, Tukituki catchment, Karamu Stream, and the Coastal Marine Environment.

A recent report to the Environment and Services Committee outlined the work completed in the last year. This included planting more than 31,000 plants and constructing more than 17km of fencing around waterways, while developing and implementing a plan to collect data for further study on the region's marine environment.

HBRC group manager integrated catchment management Iain Maxwell says council staff have built stronger relationships with tangata whenua, landowners, communities, schools and other agencies.

He says another positive outcome has been the HBRC's internal growth through staff identifying better ways of working and collaborating to get the best outcomes.

"Throughout this project staff have come together, tested their existing practices against new theories and research, while sharing useful tools and methodologies across the business," Iain says.

"The seeds have been sown. Positive engagement with our communities is increasing. To continue this good work and keep the momentum going we need to continue to build relationships and share knowledge on how to restore our environment together."