For more than 30 years, Steve Treseder has quietly transformed the landscape of the Nisbett Taumata Estate in the Mangamahaki sub-catchment at Oueroa. His work is just one example of the farmer-led environmental stewardship happening across Aotearoa.
Catchment collective Tukituki Land Care is helping to highlight and share these kinds of on-farm efforts, showing the difference farmers are making in protecting and enhancing their land and waterways.
Since taking on the management of the 247-hectare sheep and beef property in 1988, Steve has planted an estimated 8,000 trees and shrubs. What began with poplars and willows for erosion control has evolved into a diverse planting programme that includes natives around dams, mixed-species woodlots, and shelterbelts that support both stock and biodiversity.
“It wasn’t a grand plan,” Steve says. “You just keep chipping away, and over time you can really see how far things have come. It has been an incredibly rewarding process.”
Initially guided by advice from The Conservation Company and with a lot of help and support from the Nisbett family who own the property, Steve has made sure to mix species and avoid monocultures to enhance biodiversity, improve soil health and increase resilience to pests and diseases.
Despite limited external funding, Steve has made the most of what’s available, including modest support from Trees That Count and Hawke’s Bay Regional Council. Steve has also shown plenty of resourcefulness, fashioning his own weedmats from defective apple trays discarded by packhouses.
In 2022, Steve’s efforts were formally recognised when he was named Farm Forester of the Year and a finalist in the Ballance Farm Environment Awards. But for Steve, the real reward lies in the transformation of the land and the legacy it creates.
Alongside his environmental work, Steve also runs Minibales Hawke’s Bay, producing compact baleage bales – a business born from the same spirit of innovation that drives his planting.
“Planting is a real buzz,” he says simply. And the flourishing landscape of the Nisbett Taumata Estate is living proof.
Celebrating catchment groups and farmer-led action
Steve’s story is just one of many across the Tukituki catchment where farmers, landowners, and catchment groups are working together to make a difference. Check out the Tukituki Landcare Facebook page for more stories like Steve’s.
B+LNZ understands the importance of catchment community groups and the positive impacts they can have on farming communities. We encourage and support farmers to take active roles in local catchment community groups to help work towards achieving the groups vision and goals. Learn more.
