Jobs for Nature funding of $34m announced to employ conservation workers on private land

Thursday, 14 January 2021

Conservation Minister Kiritapu Allan, right, announced funding today at the Waikanae Estuary which will create more than 400 jobs for conservation groups around the country.

Conservation volunteers around the country will soon be paid for their hard yards, thanks to a $34 million funding boost announcement on Thursday.

Conservation Minister Kiritapu Allan announced the funding at the Waikanae Esturary, intended to aid and further the work of private landowners and established conservation groups around the country.

It’s part of the $1.245 billion Jobs for Nature Covid-19 recovery package aimed at providing nature-based job opportunities for 11,000 people over the next four years.

The funding would create more than 400 jobs in the areas of ecology, restoration, trapping, pest control, fencing, and project management.

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Waikanae Estuary is home to many at-risk species, including royal spoonbills, white-fronted terns, and oystercatchers.

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The new funding will be split into two categories. An $18m Private Land Biodiversity Fund will help private landowners protect and restore habitats for native species on their land.

“We know many farmers value and are active in managing biodiversity on their farms, and this fund provides the opportunity to support groups of landowners to expand biodiversity projects while also providing jobs,” Allan said.

Waikanae Estuary Care Group secretary Pam Stapleton in the nursery, where 20 species of native plants are raised from seed to be planted by volunteers.

Another $16m for the Community Conservation fund is for community-led conservation projects on public and private land.

This will target community groups with a focus on practical projects, and would help established projects “take their conservation goals to the next level and provide great employment opportunities for locals”.

Groups set to benefit are those like the Waikanae Estuary Care Group, which has been active for 14 years, and in which time has transplanted 60,000 native plants into the estuary.

Group secretary Pam Stapleton said the group had more than 150 members – volunteers who may soon get the opportunity to be paid for their work.

Along with a close relationship with local iwi, the group were caretakers of 75 hectares of land; 65ha administered by DOC, and 10ha by the Kāpiti Coast District Council.

Plants were raised from seed on-site, held in the nursery for up to two years to strengthen them before volunteers planted them in the estuary.

Many at-risk birds visited this spot; royal spoonbills, white-fronted terns, and oystercatchers.

Allan said it was “about the people already here, doing the work”. Ideally, the Government would help out, and then step back, allowing the people with a connection to the land and the skill sets to care for it do the mahi.

“It creates opportunities to bring through the next wave of enviro-warriors,” she said.