Horizons Regional Council

FROM THE FIELD FRIDAY | Whio spotting This week’s #FromTheFieldFriday is a special one! While our freshwater team was busy monitoring periphyton in the Mangawhero River, they were treated to a rare and heartwarming sight - a whio (blue duck) family out for a feed. 🦆💧 Seeing these iconic birds in their natural habitat is a reminder of why protecting our waterways is so important. What a stunning moment to capture in the field! ➡️ If you want to learn more about the whio you can head to https://bit.ly/3DeGOe7

We are proud to congratulate Horizons’ senior health and safety advisor Evan Lloyd who was recently recognised for his service to emergency management. Evan, who is retiring from Horizons after 18-and-a-half years, received an award from the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) recognising his decade of service to emergency management. Evan joined the emergency management office at Horizons in 2006, when it was a two-person operation, before moving to an organisational health and safety role with Horizons in 2017. While in the Horizons emergency management office, Evan gained a Master's in Emergency Management (with merit) and was involved in many emergency events. He credits teamwork and collaboration as critical to the successful management of emergency events, alongside family support during the often long hours and days of an unfolding event. Congratulations to Evan for the special recognition of his service to emergency management. It is a testament to the dedication he and many others have to keeping New Zealand communities prepared, safe, and resilient to emergencies.

FROM THE FIELD FRIDAY | Waiora Stream Study 🔍💧 Linton Camp School has been learning all things water and wanted to learn more about the Manawatū River 📚🏞️ Horizons Regional Council educator visited the students at school for a classroom session to learn about catchments and identify different types of runoff pollution from both urban and rural areas. We then discussed various ways to help mitigate pollution to help keep our waterways healthy 💙 They followed this up with a visit to their local awa the Kahuterawa Stream, part of the Manawatū Catchment Students ran some tests at the stream including checking the temperature, pH, flow, and clarity, as well as taking a deeper look at what lives in the awa 🔬 Students found a wide range of macroinvertebrates living here including some large mayflies, stoneflies, dobsonflies and even bullies and koura which are all positive indicators of stream health 🪰🐟 ➡️ Want to book a Waiora Stream Study session for your school? 📧 Email us at: education@horizons.govt.nz

🧬 eDNA TESTING 🧬 Our kaimahi are always looking for ways to work more efficiently and ensure the information we hold is as rich as possible. eDNA testing ticks both of those boxes. By using this technique to gather environmental data, our kaimahi can figure out quickly where species are. This is helpful for knowing where native fish are living, or where pest species such as gold clams may be harming our environment. This all helps us achieve our organisational vision: Tō tātou whenua ora – mauri wai, mauri whenua, mauri ora | Our region – a healthy environment where people are thriving. This mahi wouldn’t be possible without the help of Wilderlab, who also provided this infographic showcasing our eDNA work during the past year - tino kino te pai!

Ngāti Hāua and Horizons Sign Kawenata / Partnership Agreement ✍️ Ngāti Hāua and Horizons Regional Council have formalised their relationship with a Kawenata, signed at Ngāpūwaiwaha Marae on 31 October. This milestone reflects their shared commitment to mutual respect, community wellbeing, and environmental protection. 🌱 Ngāti Hāua Chair Graham Bell described the agreement as an important step in building a relationship of mutual trust, reflecting Te Tiriti principles. Horizons Chair Rachel Keedwell highlighted the Kawenata as a foundation for working together on shared aspirations and key projects, strengthening connections at governance and operational levels. 🤝 ➡️ Learn more about the Kawenata / Partnership Agreement here: https://bit.ly/4fKByNY

We're excited to see the progress of the native planting at Bushy Park Tarapuruhi, one of our Priority Habitat sites, with more than 160 plant species calling it home. 🌿 ✨ It’s incredibly rewarding to see trees planted over a year ago now well-established and thriving alongside this year’s new additions. Thanks to funding from the Long-term Plan, we’re able to further our commitment to restoring and protecting the region’s indigenous ecosystems through dedicated native planting and pest management. 🌏 A huge shout out to the hardworking volunteers, local schools, Whanganui Rotary Club, and Forest & Bird, whose collective efforts have helped plant 4,500 native plants from the on-site nursery. 💚🌱 This remarkable journey highlights the power of community and environmental restoration! 🌳 Swipe to see the incredible transformation from our October planting, along with drone footage showing the 'before' from March, which was captured by Joe Potter. 📸 Special thanks to Jacqui McGowan for capturing beautiful photos of the volunteers! ➡️ Learn more about our Priority Habitats Programme here: https://bit.ly/3BeTIIp

🛠️🧑🔧🏗️ We’re on the lookout for a motivated River Management Area Engineer to join our Catchment Operations Group and help protect our communities from flooding. Based in Marton, this full-time role is your chance to lead a talented team and make a real impact across one of New Zealand’s most diverse landscapes. What you’ll do: ✔️ Manage river and drainage projects and assets ✔️ Mentor and build capability within your team ✔️ Collaborate with landowners, iwi, and councils ✔️ Ensure safety, compliance, and effective asset management What we’re looking for: 🎓 A Civil Engineering qualification (Bachelor’s or equivalent) 💼 Experience in river and drainage engineering, staff management, and public liaison 🌟 Strong leadership, communication, and relationship skills 📅 Apply by 5pm Wednesday 4 December ➡️ Find out more and apply here: https://bit.ly/412539h

We're very proud of our customer service team leader Sonya, who has received the Customer Experience Training and Development Grant at the 2024 ALGIM Awards. Sonya's constant commitment and passion to growth and learning in forwarding our customer experiences are inspirational. ✨ Well done, Sonya! 👏

✅🛡️🌟 Do you have relevant direct or transferable experience in all things related to health, safety and wellbeing? We are seeking a Senior Health, Safety and Wellbeing Advisor to champion health and safety across our organisation. Based in Palmerston North, this is your chance to build on a strong foundation and drive meaningful change. If you have expertise in Health & Safety management, a knack for building relationships, and a passion for fostering a positive safety culture, we’d love to hear from you! 📅 Apply by 5pm Tuesday 26 November ➡️ Find out more and apply here: https://bit.ly/3AKsSI5

🏆 Massive congratulations to Tranzit Group for their win at the Manawatū Business Chamber Awards this past weekend - tino kino te pai! We’re proud of our partnership with Tranzit, which delivered the first fully electric bus fleet in Australasia when we launched the new and improved Palmerston North and Ashhurst public transport network in March this year. The new network provides more services every day of the week, giving people better access to social, economic and health opportunities. We’ve not just seen significantly increased patronage as a result, but a massive decrease in carbon emissions. This also flows into improved air quality, which has benefits for the health and wellbeing of Palmy residents. The fully electric Palmy network is helping us to achieve our vision for the Horizons Region: Tō tātou whenua ora - mauri wai, mauri whenua, mauri ora | Our region - a healthy environment where people are thriving.