Case studies
Exploring food economies in Otago
We explored local food economies in Otago, working with Otago Polytechnic, and created a toolkit for communities. Local Food Economies (LFE) is the economic and social system for growing, processing, distributing and consuming food within an area. This builds social...
Maori agribusiness opportunities
Whirika has been working with more than twenty Māori landholder groups across Te Waipounamu South Island to identify and assess the potential for diversifying land use for whānau with a particular interest mahinga kai. The focus has been on the feasibility of...
Integrated catchment management planning
In Te Hakapupu catchment, East Otago, historic farming practices and more recent forestry operations in the catchment have led to an increase in sediment in waterways and wetlands, degrading cultural and biodiversity values. Whirika is working with mana whenua,...
Predator Free Dunedin – a community collaboration
Over just a few years, the idea to coordinate predator control across Dunedin and beyond to bring back the birds became a reality. By bringing together twenty groups and agencies - including iwi, research institutes, government, and grass-roots community groups -...
Hunua Forest: Landscape-scale restoration
Watercare purchased Hūnua Forest to protect Auckland's water supply. Since 2018, Whirka has supported managers to undertake one of the largest native forest restoration projects in Aotearoa - to revert 2,300 ha of pine plantation to native forest. Why replace a...
Sustainable landuse – Future-proofing for Maori land trusts
Succession planning is challenging for many farms, but multi-generational dynamics, geographically dispersed whanau, and complex governance structures add extra challenges for Māori whenua trusts. Otago Peninsula can be a tough place to farm. It’s dry, steep, and...
Our Food Network: local food in Ōtepoti Dunedin
Our Food Network aims to stimulate the production, consumption, and distribution of local food in Ōtepoti Dunedin. For six years, we provided ‘low-bono’ project management and support for this not-for-profit trust. Running local projects including the Neighbourhood...
Activating a vision for forest restoration in Wanaka
Rocky Hill, near Wānaka, is a large property with Outstanding Natural Landscape values, including tourist hot spot Diamond Lake. Once part of a larger high-country station, the property has been farmed and proudly cared for by one family for several decades. They have...
Can Southland fuel its own transition away from coal?
What is the potential for using wood biomass energy from local forestry to fuel the big energy users in the region? In our report for the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA), we evaluated the availability of wood biomass for bioenergy use in Southland,...