MINISTRY FOR THE ENVIRONMENT PULL THEIR GUMBOOTS UP

by Sarah Perriam

Pictured left to right: Sara Clarke, (Director of Policy Implementation & Delivery - Ministry for the Environment), John Stevenson (Wairarapa dairy farmer) and Gin Loughnan (Manager - Climate & Water Agriculture team at Ministry for the Environment )  

About the road trip

     The burning question in the Ministry for the Environment is 'How does government work with farmers to implement environmental policy?" 

My great new mates, Sara Clarke & Gin Loughnan at the Ministry for the Environment are tasked with that challenge so I invited them to get out of their ivory towers in Wellington and visit some of my farming friends across the North Island to discuss the practicalities of the freshwater farm plans. 

These farmers not only had a lot of great environment work on-farm to show Sara & Gin but they had a lot to tell the bureaucrats about how to ensure the new freshwater farm plans were practical!

A key theme that Sara and Gin heard during the visits was that a one-size-fits-all approach does not work and that there needs to be flexibility to allow for local catchment issues.

Table Swap is a podcast & video series produced in association with the Ministry for the Environment where you will hear from three North Island catchment communities as well as see first-hand three dairy farmers' freshwater quality mitigation initiatives.

“Everyone wants beautiful waterways but we need to bring people along, but to do it without the hand slapping. Farmers come up with good ideas - from the grass roots,"explains Taranaki dairy farmer, Belinda Price.

WATCH THE DOCUMENTARY

LISTEN TO THE PODCASTS

Episode 1 - Tukituki Catchment with Grant Charteris & Hugh Abyss

Episode 2 - Taranaki Catchment Communities with Donna Cram, Katrina Knowles, Mark Hooper & Jared Coogan

Episode 3 -Rangitikei Rivers Catchment Collective with Roger Dalrymple & Greg Maughan