Collective Community Action

Collective community action is well supported locally, as was demonstrated at this Enviro Collective workshop hosted by Somerview Farm

The nature of collective community action typically starts small and gradually spreads outwards. Individuals, farm owners and farm teams, catchment groups, and in the case of Mid Canterbury - a catchment collective. Ensuring there is a district-wide vision requires leadership and collaboration as locals can come together around a common goal.

The role of the Mid Canterbury Catchment Collective (MCCC), and the ten sub catchment groups it administers, is to capture the wants and needs of locals in a Catchment Action Plan (CAP). For most of our groups these plans were originally written in 2022/23 with the assistance of an MCCC facilitator, funded as part of our Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) Essential Freshwater grant.

Now in 2026, MCCC form part of a wider movement of 51 rural catchment communities who are currently being supported by MPI, with Central Government investing $40.5 million over the next four years to continue this support. This provides a valuable opportunity to provide a forum for farmers and others living in a catchment to unite and deliver environmental gains at place.

At a high level our CAPs incorporate water quality, biodiversity, soil health and nutrient management (or mitigation), land, drainage and irrigation practices - and most importantly they incorporate people.

Prosperity, food production and a sustainable way forward for all underpins every CAP. Developed through an intergenerational lens, each is bespoke depending on the typography, hydrology and geology of that area. They are first and foremost farmer-led, grass roots actions, which sit alongside a top-down regulatory framework.

Catchment Action Plan Implementation:

The next step is implementation; this requires teamwork and an allocation of roles and responsibilities from both a governance and operational perspective.

It is vital CAPs are a living document, reviewed annually to ensure they are kept relevant. Typically, they are ambitious yet achievable and they remain the intellectual property of ‘locals’.

Catchment groups are tasked with monitoring and measuring progress and outcomes. Data gathered is analysed and trends recorded which helps ensure actions are assessed regularly, and tweaks can be made along the way when and if required.

While the regulatory space is currently in flux, two pieces of work underpin MCCC’s current approach;

Land and Water Regional Plan (LWRP)

Introduced in August 2012, the LWRP is the over-arching regional plan introduced by Environment Canterbury to sustainably manage freshwater bodies, riverbeds, wetlands, and associated land use. The plan enforces environmental limits, manages water allocation, and controls runoff or discharges to protect water quality. 

Canterbury Water Management Strategy (CWMS)

The CWMS provides a collaborative framework to help manage the multiple demands on our precious natural resources.

Officially launched in November 2009, with implementation beginning in 2010, the CWMS was developed by the Canterbury Mayoral Forum to transition the region from a first-come, first-served regulatory system to a collaborative, community-led catchment approach.

When working in partnership with the Hekeao Hinds Water Enhancement Trust (HHWET), and local irrigation schemes, MCCC’s ten catchment groups are able to tell a compelling story about what is happening in our district from the mountains to the sea (ki utu ki), and interested parties are regularly invited to learn about our journey.

For more information about the Mid Canterbury Catchment Collective, email Angela Cushnie at coordinator@mccatchmentcollective.nz.

Angela Cushnie, Mid Canterbury Catchment Collective Coordinator