Your Catchment Group Coordinator
Katie Alderton
021 399 343
katie@thrivingsouthland.co.nz
Catchment Group Contacts
Mark Hamill
027 239 5021
hamills@outlook.com
About Us
The Lower Mataura Catchment Group was formed in 2016 and has grown into a strong network of around 75 members — a great mix of dairy, sheep, and beef farmers from across the southern end of the Mataura River. The group’s all about local farmers working together to understand their waterways and take practical steps to improve them.
Catchment Area
The catchment stretches south of the Mataura Island bridge and runs west to Kapuka, following the western boundary of the Mataura River. It includes the Mataura River itself and the streams that flow through Titiroa and Gorge Road down toward the Toetoes Estuary. It’s a diverse landscape, made up of six different physiographic zones which means water quality and soil health can vary a lot across farms.
Projects
Main Project – MCI Testing with the Cawthron Institute
With very little previous water quality data for the Lower Mataura, the group teamed up with the Cawthron Institute to kickstart MCI testing in the area. This project gave members the tools to monitor stream health and understand the ecological condition of their waterways. It’s been a great first step toward gathering baseline data and building local knowledge about what’s really happening in the catchment.
Other Projects
The group also hosted Steve Canny from Great South, who shared updates on regional initiatives such as hemp farming, oat milk production, and Southland’s Carbon Neutral Advantage Project. It was an inspiring session that got everyone thinking about future opportunities for diversification and sustainability in the region.
Thriving Southland is a community-led group with a vision to create a prosperous Southland, healthy people, healthy environment from the mountains to the sea.
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CONTACT US
25 Don Street,
Invercargill 9810