KMR reaching new environmental heights
Northland MP Grant McCallum, second from left, next to KMR Pou Tātaki Justine Daw and leading Kōkopu beef farmer Rob Pye (centre), surrounded by some of the KMR team.
New Zealand’s largest harbour restoration programme has been recognised nationally and internationally for its immensely positive impact on the environment.
Not only has Kaipara Moana Remediation has been named a finalist in the 2024 Sustainable Business Awards, but it has also been named on the ‘Next 95’ list by the Sustainable Business Network.
The ‘Next 95’ list recognises innovators, entrepreneurs, projects and organisations that can help make Aotearoa New Zealand a global beacon of sustainable business.
KMR Pou Tātaki Justine Daw says she is immensely humbled that she and the KMR team have been selected for their leadership as part of this new national list.
However, she is even more humbled that KMR has been nominated for the 2025 Earthshot Prize, an initiative inspired by President John F. Kennedy’s ‘Moonshot’ challenge in 1962 to land a man on the moon within a decade.
The Earthshot Prize was launched by Prince William in 2020 to search for and scale the most innovative solutions to the world’s greatest environmental challenges.
The ten-year global initiative aims to identify and support programmes and initiatives that can accelerate and scale the environmental innovations needed to repair and regenerate our planet across five categories.
Every year, the winners with the best chance of helping achieve the identified ‘Earthshots’ are awarded significant funding each to scale their solutions, with all finalists receiving tailored support from a global alliance of partners.
Daw says on-the-ground advice and guidance from the KMR team right from the start ensures that KMR projects are delivered successfully, and that landowners and groups have the knowledge they need to take action right away.
“If you are working with KMR, our trained field advisors ‘walk alongside’ you and provide wrap-around support to ensure your project meets our funding criteria and can be delivered time and cost efficiently,” she says.
“Our experts co-design your project with you, targeting ‘hotspots’ in the landscape. Through the project, KMR specialists collaborate with you to ensure your project achieves the best environmental outcomes on the ground.
“If you are outside the Kaipara Moana catchment, KMR freely shares our resources, in line with our role as a national exemplar for best practice in environmental restoration.
KMR is also a supporter of Tūhono Taiao, a national digital platform created for environmental projects and programmes to share their resources. Through the platform, we have made available many of our underpinning documents (such as KMR’s popular Planting Guide) and other information of value to communities, landowners and groups taking environmental action across New Zealand.
The significance of KMR’s positive impact on the environment – in partnership with farmers – is being acknowledged by Northland MP and co-Chair of the Blue Greens, Grant McCallum.
The Maungatūroto farmer attended a hui with KMR last week where he was given an overview of progress in the KMR kaupapa. That was followed by a tour of Mandy and Rob Pye’s Kōkopu beef farm at Ruatangata West, near Whangārei, where McCallum was shown extensive native plantings and an associated fencing programme supported by KMR to keep livestock out of waterways.
“I really appreciated meeting the Kaipara Moana Remediation team and being briefed on a unique initiative. They are clearly doing great work,” says McCallum.
“KMR is providing an outstanding opportunity for landowners in the Kaipara Moana catchment in Northland and Auckland to shift the dial on reducing sedimentation into the Kaipara Harbour. I encourage all farmers to get on board and make a difference.
“It’s a real privilege having this national funding available, so it is important to keep up the good work. I will do what I can to support the KMR team and farmers to make the most of the opportunity on offer and really optimise the investment. I congratulate KMR on their success to date and the deserved accolades they have received of late.”
