Mā te huruhuru ka rere te manu - With feathers the bird will fly
Our fourth round of applications saw LFTL award a record 17 Grants, including 10 Engagement Grants and 7 Project Grants totalling $147,792 across Tairāwhiti. We are thrilled to see the rise in emerging groups applying for funding, alongside an increasing variety of application topics.
This brings our total number of funded projects to 36 and a total of
$380,563 across Tairāwhiti.
Please feel free to pass on this newsletter amongst your hapū, whānau, and catchment group members — the more connection with te taiao, the better, we say!
Round 4 - Project Grants
Ngātapa Community Landcare Group - Ngātapa Awa After Dark (An investigation into the health of the awa of Ngātapa)
Funding to identify and map the adult fish habitat across Ngātapa tributaries and to conduct monitoring events. This will help identify high-priority areas for restoration and allow for engagement with landowners, community, and local schools to share the outcomes of the project.
Mangaotane - ROMA Ecological Survey
Funding to undertake a detailed biodiversity study in November/December 2026 to understand the effectiveness of ongoing predator control work. The project intends to focus on outcomes for bats and kiwi within the managed area and is committed to sharing the outcomes of the study with shareholders and stakeholders.
Waimatā Catchment Group - Fish Passage Workshop
Support to help identify and address fish passage barriers in the Waimatā Catchment, to open up stream habitat, improve freshwater biodiversity, and support landowners to understand and maintain fish passages in a way that works for both fish movement and farm operations. This will involve testing for fish species presence before and after remediation.
Waimatā Catchment Group - Back Office Support
Funding to support the back-office function of the group and project facilitation. This will help maintain a practical and sustainable operating model for a landowner-led catchment group, including governance, administration, reporting, and facilitation functions.
Whāngārā Community Catchment Group - Animal Pest Control Project Stage 2
Support to extend the Animal Pest Control Pilot Study to a Biodiversity and Pest Control Review project across the catchment. The Group plans to first identify areas of high biodiversity across the catchment and create a biodiversity inventory at a catchment level. The inventory will inform the development of a catchment-wide possum control plan to address biodiversity loss. The project also includes an ungulate control component with the potential for outcomes to inform a financially sustainable ungulate control programme across the catchment.
Eastern Whio Link Charitable Trust
Back-office support funding for a part-time coordinator role to deliver social media content, newsletters, trapline service coordination, and workshops. The intended outcomes are to strengthen the capacity and sustainability of the Eastern Whio Link Charitable Trust, enabling more effective volunteer coordination, predator control, environmental monitoring, and community engagement.
Ngā Uri o Ngāi Tāwhiri
Funding to undertake water monitoring on four sites on the Waikanae Awa in a way that aligns with cultural priorities and hapū environmental objectives as part of their Waikanae Awa Tipuna Eco Restoration Project (WATER).
Engagement Grants
Tairāwhiti Ungulate Group - Community hui
Funding to bring together farmers, foresters, hunters, pest control operators, agencies, and community members to discuss environmental, biodiversity, and primary sector impacts associated with ungulate populations across the region. Information gathered through the engagement process will contribute to the development of a funding-ready regional strategy and future collaborative project opportunities.
Wainui Beach Community Catchment Group - Community seminar
Funding for a community seminar and on-site technical field visit to support development of the Hamanatua Stream Restoration Plan. Community members, landowners, and stakeholders will participate in learning about repo wetlands, restoration opportunities, and catchment planning. The project promotes collaborative planning, encourages participation by local landowners and the wider community, and will directly inform development of the Hamanatua Stream Restoration Plan.
Manaaki Matakāoa - Hunting competition and engagement event
Funding to deliver a community hunting competition and engagement event designed to bring together hunters, rangatahi, tamariki, whānau, and community members to support pest control, ngahere restoration, and environmental stewardship. Community feedback gathered during the engagement will help shape the future direction of the project and inform future funding applications.
East Coast Hunting Fishing and Taiao - Wetland wānanga
Support to deliver the Matakaoa Wetland Wānanga in Te Araroa and surrounding East Cape wetlands. The activity provides practical freshwater and wetland restoration learning for approximately rural landowners and community members, supporting future catchment restoration planning. The opportunity to engage Dr Rebecca Eivers, a recognised wetland specialist, will provide landowners, whānau, and community members with practical knowledge and a greater understanding of the ecological, cultural, and environmental significance of repo (wetlands).
Tokomaru Bay Sports Club - Community wānanga
Support to deliver a two-day community-led wānanga in Tokomaru Bay bringing together whānau and local pūkenga to co-design a five-year strategic and operational roadmap for Whare Tipu, map community skills and volunteer capacity, support tamariki and rangatahi succession, and deliver practical seed-to-plant propagation and pest-proofing learning.
Puke Hau Native Planting and Sustainability - Community wānanga
Support for a wānanga at Puke Hau, Tokomaru Bay bringing whānau, Hatea-a-Rangi School and the wider community together to shape a succession and restoration roadmap for the Puke Hau land block through generational visioning, landscape mapping, and restoration design.
The longer-term vision is to establish Puke Hau as a restored native landscape and community learning site connected with Te Waiotu stream, while contributing to the wider Tokomaru Bay Kaupapa of building local capability in native restoration and kaitiakitanga.
Whareponga Whenua Collective - Wetland restoration planning
Support for the Tieki Repo wānanga in Ruatorea across Hauawhio Nursery, Kahuitara, and local wetland sites on collective whenua. The engagement will bring landowners together to consider March 2026 wetland survey findings, identify restoration priorities, undertake site visits and mapping, and build practical capability in wetland plant identification, pest impacts and native wetland plant propagation. The intended outcome is a community-led plan to guide future wetland restoration across the Collective’s whenua.
Mana Tāne ki Ruatoria - Pest control and ngahere restoration wānanga
Support for a two-day wānanga that supports whānau through kaitiakitanga, pest management, and sustainable kai initiatives. The project will support biodiversity and the recovery of native flora and fauna through ongoing pest control, while also strengthening community relationships and reducing financial pressures through the use of harvested pest species. This project will benefit rangatahi, whānau, the wider community, and the environment by building knowledge and practical skills in pest management, conservation, and kaitiakitanga.
Te Whare Tipu o Awatere - Mahinga kai wānanga
Hua o te Whenua is a one-day wānanga in Te Araroa for whānau, community members, and local kura and kōhanga to learn and develop practical skills in native flora identification, seed sourcing and propagation, and māra kai/food sovereignty.
This project will strengthen connections between whānau and the wider community by bringing together people with shared interests to learn, connect, and support one another. Participants will develop practical skills, build confidence, and gain a greater sense of ownership over growing and harvesting their own food. Through learning about food sovereignty, identifying native food sources, and developing the knowledge and confidence to establish and maintain their own māra, the project will empower whānau to become more self-sufficient while strengthening their connection to te taiao.
Ngā Mokopuna o Te Whānau Pani - Succession planning wānanga
Funding for an event that seeks to connect members of the wider whānau associated with the whenua and community members with the ongoing restoration project of their wetland. Ihungia wetland is an ecologically significant wetland that has been under covenant with Ngā Whenua Rāhui since 2002.