Living Streams is an Environment Canterbury programme designed to improve practices that have an impact on water quality and maintain the health of waterways.
What is Living Streams?
Living Streams is an Environment Canterbury programme designed to improve practices that have an impact on water quality and maintain the health of waterways.
The programme is based on building working partnerships with the community and involves identifying issues, collating local knowledge and developing practical steps to improve the health of our waterways.
Through the programme, individuals and groups are eligible for help and support to restore their streams, including:
- An assessment of the current stream health
- Advice on actions and plans to improve stream health
- Advice on funding and assistance with resource consents if necessary
- Encouragement and facilitation of wider community involvement in projects.
Although not everyone can be part of the formal Living Streams programme, Environment Canterbury’s Resource Management Coordination staff will assist landowners with any projects relating to sustainable land and stream management.
This handbook was created as part of the Living Streams programme to help you to restore the streams you care about. The practical tips listed are from people experienced in stream restoration, such as landscape architects, nursery owners and community group leaders. As with all the best advice, it has been gained though practical experience.
The team at Environment Canterbury wish you the best of success for your project.
Stream definition: In this handbook we have included all of the smaller waterways under the term ‘stream’. This includes farm drains.
If you read nothing else...
Fence/keep stock out of streams and avoid cultivation to the stream edge:
Leave a long grass buffer between the stream and fence to filter out contaminants:
Fence and plant riparian margin:
Protect wetlands and springs:
Next: Part 1 - Investigations and planning >>