Semi-finalists in 2021 New Zealand River Awards ‘River Story’ category announced
26 September 2021
Semi finalists in the 2021 Cawthron New Zealand River Awards ‘River Story’ category have been announced to coincide with World Rivers Day.
Cawthron Institute and the New Zealand Rivers Awards partners and sponsors including the Ministry for the Environment and the Department of Conservation congratulate:
- Kaūpokonui catchment community in South Taranaki, led by Te Korowai o Ngāruahine Trust with support by Fonterra Kāpuni, Taranaki Fish and Game, South Taranaki District Council and the Taranaki Regional Council
- Aspiring Biodiversity Trust for their partnership with Toitu te Whenua Land Information New Zealand to protect and restore the indigenous biodiversity of the Makarora/Makarore and Wilkin/Otanenui Rivers in Otago.
- The Puhinui catchment community in Auckland, including Eke Panuku Development Auckland, the Wiri School community and many others, for their work to restore the mauri of Puhinui awa.
- Pūniu River Care in Waikato or their work to restore the health of the Pūniu awa by working with local iwi to learn, grow and use their knowledge in Mātauranga Māori.
- Ngā Puna Rau o Rangitīkei (NPRoR) – a large catchment group with an ambitious goal to provide for a whole-of-catchment approach to preserving and enhancing the mauri of the Rangitīkei Awa and community.
- The Upper Waipoua Kaitiaki Group in Wairarapa who are working to improve local water quality within their catchment through better land management.
The profiles of the 2021 River Story semi-finalists make for inspirational reading, demonstrating the power of collaboration and community engagement.
The winner will be announced at the New Zealand River Awards ceremony in Wellington on 25 November.
The judges of the River Story Award category are Gerard Hutching and Dr Jane Kitson. Gerard is a journalist and writer who formerly edited Forest & Bird magazine, and authored the best-selling books The Natural World of New Zealand, Back from the Brink and In Search of Ancient New Zealand. Jane is a renowned ecologist and environmental scientist from Southland, who has brought her unique perspective based on her background in kaupapa Māori research to the judging process for the first time in 2021.
The New Zealand River Awards have been running since 2013 to celebrate the efforts and achievements of people who are committed to improving freshwater health. The objectives of the Awards are to:
- Improve the health of New Zealand’s river and streams
- Encourage greater community participation in measuring and reporting water quality
- Highlight the actions being taken to restore freshwater health.
For more information visit the New Zealand River Awards webpage.