Funding for hill country erosion

Landowners in North Canterbury can apply for funding to help combat hillside erosion through the Soil Conservation and Revegatation Programme (SCAR).

Pole planting to combat farm erosion

The programme aims to:

Retain productive soils
Reduce sediment washed into waterways through erosion
Provide benefits to water quality, biodiversity and mahinga kai
Build on-farm resilience to climatic effects.

Farmers work alongside our land management advisors identify areas of their properties that are erosion-prone. They then work together to find the best way to mitigate this erosion.

The programme is co-funded by Environment Canterbury and the MPI Hill Country Erosion Fund, and the goal is to reach as many eligible landowners as possible.

Funding is targeted at:

Space planting of poplars
Fencing off areas from stock
Catchment-scale mapping and on-farm Land Use Capability (LUC) maps to support farm environment planning
Building staff and catchment group capacity to consult on soil conservation and farm plans
Expanding our existing nursery (Baynons Nursery) to provide greater numbers of poplars and willows across the region.

The programme has been operating since 2019.

Support available

Our land management advisors will work with farmers on:

Funding applications associated with the programme
Prioritising land for treatment
Developing erosion control plans for their property.

Funding is currently available for landowners in the Kaikōura, Hurunui, and Waimakariri districts.

Funding available to identify and treat erosion-prone land

Activity	Costs through SCAR assistance	Additional information	Farm Environment Plan (FEP)
Poplar poles + GST and delivery	Poles for $4.00/pole. (Normal retail – $12.00/pole) Free protective sleeves (Normal retail price $9.50)	Poles are 3 metres long	Recommended but not required
Land Use Capability (LUC) Mapping	Free mapping	To assess the physical characteristics of the land, to help landowners understand the capability of the land to make sustainable land-use decisions	Not required
Reversion / Retirement fencing	$10/metre	Payment on inspection. Typically 8-wire post with droppers/battens. Stock must be permanently excluded	A current FEP is required
Reversion / Retirement land	Provide up to $1500/hectare	Partial payment on invoice, remaining on inspection	A current FEP is required
Note: A Good Faith Agreement will be required to be signed for projects, depending on the value.

Ongoing measurement and commitment

Our land management advisors will need reasonable access to land to approve funding applications.

It will be landowners’ responsibility to maintain funded projects:

Pole plantings will need to be maintained for a minimum of 10 years
Fencing, reversion and retirement projects will need to be maintained on a long-term basis.

Staff will then liaise with farmers to measure survival rates.

Project data (fencing, planting, costs, work-in-kind, timeframes, contractors) will be entered into a geographic information system (GIS).