Waikato Regional Council

Waikato Regional Council Making your Waikato even better, together. www.waikatoregion.govt.nz
0800 800 401 We ask all our Facebook fans to do their part to help us achieve this goal.

Waikato Regional Council helps communities, industry and other groups in New Zealand's Waikato region to live and work with natural resources. Our activities help look after our region's water, soil, air, geothermal areas and coasts - so we can all enjoy these precious resources for generations to come.

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Calling all backyard birdwatchers! 🐦👀 Winter is when you might see some of our native forest birds in your garden or lo...
25/06/2026

Calling all backyard birdwatchers! 🐦👀

Winter is when you might see some of our native forest birds in your garden or local park as they search for food and shelter during these lean, colder months.

So, it’s the perfect time for the New Zealand Garden Bird Survey, run by Manaaki Whenua - Landcare Research.

The survey acts as a backyard barometer for our nation’s garden birds. It’s an early warning system to highlight any health issues, as well as showing where birds are thriving.

So, how do you take part? Easy!

✅ Pick your favourite bird watching spot. It can be in your garden, in a local park, or at a school or marae.

✅ Choose ONE day during the nine-day survey period (Saturday, 27 June – Sunday, 5 July 2025).

✅ Look for birds for ONE hour in your survey area.

✅ Use a tally sheet to record for each species the HIGHEST number seen (or heard) at one time.

✅ Submit your survey results online.

Waikato Regional Council supports native birds across the region through projects such as Hamilton Halo. Our biodiversity team say monitoring initiatives such as the New Zealand Garden Bird survey are a way to see trends across the landscape.

So, we encourage you to pick an hour and wrap up warm, enjoy some fresh air, and count those birds!

You can find tally sheets, ID guides, and the entry form here: https://bit.ly/3NM1yge

25/06/2026

Here's Warren Maher, chair of Waikato Regional Council, providing a wrap-up of today's full council meeting.

Remember, our meetings are livestreamed and recorded so you can follow the discussion and decision making.

You can find them on our YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/

Have you considered pole planting this winter to help erosion control? 🌱🌳The benefits of planting poplar and willows inc...
24/06/2026

Have you considered pole planting this winter to help erosion control? 🌱🌳

The benefits of planting poplar and willows include:

✅ Root systems which bind more soil than any other tree used on farms
✅ Once established they can reduce slips on hill country by 95%
✅ Sterilised willow also provide significant benefits to river management reducing the erosion of river and stream banks
✅ Well managed space planted poplars and willows allow ~ 90% of pasture growth
✅ Stock utilise their summer shade, and benefit from the shelter
✅ Both species are valuable sources of stock fodder during summer and drought conditions, and pollarding (removing/pruning upper limbs for fodder) helps maintain the canopy while extending the useful life of the trees.
✅ They absorb nutrients, particularly nitrogen from groundwater at deeper levels than pasture and absorb CO2, moderate the temperature and moisture microclimate
✅ They can be managed for timber and wood products and can be tanalised for farm posts, battens and rails
✅ Increasing farm resilience to severe weather events.

Landowners in priority catchments may be eligible for up to 70% funding for hill country erosion control work on their property, through our partnership with MPI and the Waikato River Authority.

Want to know more?

Contact your local Waikato Regional Council catchment management officer on 0800 800 401.

🔹 Full Council Meeting 🔹This month's full council meeting is set to start at 9:30am today (Thursday, 25 June).Want to kn...
24/06/2026

🔹 Full Council Meeting 🔹

This month's full council meeting is set to start at 9:30am today (Thursday, 25 June).

Want to know what's on the agenda? You can find it here: https://bit.ly/3KYcoNW

Watch the meeting live on our YouTube channel and follow the kōrero as it happens: https://bit.ly/3VdJHlw

Intern swaps parades for paddocks 👑➡️🌱Elly Wilson’s internship with our Integrated Catchment Management directorate is a...
24/06/2026

Intern swaps parades for paddocks 👑➡️🌱

Elly Wilson’s internship with our Integrated Catchment Management directorate is a world away from a placement she once held as a tourism student at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida.

“I was the understudy for Princess Merida, from Brave, the Scottish Highland princess,” laughs Elly, who’s swapped parades for paddocks, and royal waves for GPS mapping of new fencelines.

“I enjoyed Disney for the experience – my family makes fun of me – but I did it to get out of New Zealand. I saw the opportunity for a small-town Morrinsville girl to go to Disney and thought I’d give it a go.”

Elly, who now works in the Morrinsville-based nursery of Ngāti Hauā Mahi Trust (NHMT), also decided to give the 10-week internship with Waikato Regional Council’s Catchments section “a go” when the opportunity came up earlier this year.

“I definitely find it more meaningful than being a Disney princess.”

Elly’s internship is part of a council funding agreement with Waikato River Authority for a planting project in the Karāpiro and Mangaonua catchments to improve water quality, reduce flood risk and support sustainable land management.

Read more about Elly's experience here: https://bit.ly/4vnudeQ

Calling all community groups with a passion for biodiversity! 🌿💚We are currently piloting Kete Taiao Waikato, a new spat...
23/06/2026

Calling all community groups with a passion for biodiversity! 🌿💚

We are currently piloting Kete Taiao Waikato, a new spatial data management tool designed to support community-led biodiversity projects, and we’d love your help.

Kete Taiao Waikato can be used on desktop or mobile to record things like planting, pest control (animals and plants), monitoring and volunteer hours, all in one place.

It works in the field and makes it easier to plan activities, track progress, and report on what’s being achieved.

Neat, huh! Check out a short demo here: https://bit.ly/4vGljc0

We're looking for groups who are:

✅ comfortable using technology (or keen to learn)

✅ willing to actively use the tool and provide feedback

✅ able to put some time into learning and using the system as part of their project work

✅ positive about helping test the tool so it works well for community groups.

If you're interested in being a pilot group for Kete Taiao Waikato, our biodiversity team would like to hear from you.

Please email them directly including your group name, a contact person, and a short description of your project to [email protected].

23/06/2026

MetService New Zealand has issued a Heavy Rain Warning for Coromandel Peninsula and the Bay of Plenty, which includes the eastern catchment of the Waikato region. This is a convective system with potential thunderstorm and localised downpours. 🌧️🌀⛈️

We have spoken to a severe weather forecaster at MetService and they brief that while the official Orange Warning is currently focused on these areas, this situation may escalate and other parts of our region may get affected.

Please keep up to date with the current MetService weather forecasts and messages from local Civil Defence.

Our catchments are generally in a good condition with some capacity to ‘soak up’ some rain; however, high intensity downpours can cause high runoff, especially in steeper catchments.

While we are not expecting widespread flooding, we may see localised areas of surface flooding and land instability.

The Regional Flood Response team continues to monitor forecasts and flood and drainage infrastructure, and will liaise closely with civil defence, local councils and other agencies if circumstances change.

If an event does occur 👇

✅ Avoid driving through floodwaters and plan alternative routes if you live in a flood prone area.
✅ Contact local Civil Defence (or your council) if you observe any evidence of a landslip or flood impacts.
✅ Contact 111 if you are in immediate danger.

✨We're excited to celebrate Matariki soon with planting around our beautiful coast 🌱 Matariki is a time of renewal and r...
21/06/2026

✨We're excited to celebrate Matariki soon with planting around our beautiful coast 🌱

Matariki is a time of renewal and reflection - perfect for giving back to the environment. Mark your calendars and come join us at one or more of these events to connect with the environment & your community and help restore our coast 🥰

Kūaotunu, Friday 10th July: Kūaotunu Dune Care Group Matariki planting
Hot Water Beach, Saturday 11th July: Taiwawe Stream - Hot Water Beach Planting Event
Kiritehere, Sunday 12th July: Kiritehere Matariki planting bee

19/06/2026

Our Pathways to the Sea strategy won the Supreme Award at the 2026 LGFA Taituarā Local Government Excellence Awards last night, after winning the category for Excellence in Environmental Leadership. 🐟✨

The strategy embeds ecological outcomes into infrastructure planning and is grounded in a six year, evidence based research programme undertaken by council staff.

Senior Freshwater Ecologist Alicia Williams Alicia says Pathways to the Sea was a real passion project for everyone involved.

“Developing this strategy to provide safe downstream passage for tuna (eels) and other native fish through our flood protection infrastructure was something we deeply believed in, and we’re incredibly proud of the positive environmental outcomes it will deliver.

“Winning this award wouldn’t have been possible without the support of our 14 funding partners, and our iwi and hapū partners across the Waikato.”

Co-funded by 14 partners, the research included testing fish friendly solutions, including new pump technologies, gravity bypasses, electrical deterrents and trap and transfer operations.

Field tested pumps – including a New Zealand designed retrofit prototype – achieved safe passage rates of between 74 and 100 per cent.

Learn more: https://bit.ly/4a5ZmLl

Address

160 Ward Street
Hamilton
3204

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 8am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 8am - 5pm
Friday 8am - 5pm

Telephone

+64800800401

Website

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