Landcare groups

• encouraging community participation in environmental management
• raising environmental awareness.

We can also review and assess how effective the care groups are at carrying out environmental improvement projects.

Landcare groups are groups of people working together to improve their area’s environmental health. Members include landowners and occupiers, iwi, schools, and environmental groups.

The number of landcare groups and what they achieve is an indication of:

• the public’s environmental awareness
• community involvement in environmental projects.

Landcare groups are partnerships where local people work together to take action on local environmental issues.

People find that being part of a landcare group helps them to get support from a range of organisations and sponsors. It also helps with motivation, as a group effort has a much greater impact than working alone and it is more fun.

Waikato Regional Council helped start the region’s first landcare group in 1992.

Useful documents

Richie, H. 2011: From eyesore to asset – Care groups review June 2011. Waikato Regional Council Technical Report 2011/24.
Ritchie, H. 1997: Taking Care: A report on research with Landcare Groups in the Waikato. Environment Waikato Technical Report 1997/6.
Ritchie, H. 1999: Care Groups in Action – a review of Care Group activities 1998-1999. Environment Waikato publication.
Tizard, J. 1996: Environmental Education Strategy Resource Document. Environment Waikato Internal Series 1996/17.
Ritchie, H. 1996: Annual Report on Research Project: Achieving Sustainable Land Management Through Landcare. Environment Waikato Technical Report 1996/16.
Ritchie, H. 1995: Landcare in Rural Waikato – Report on a study for Environment Waikato. Environment Waikato Internal Series 1995/02.

Useful links

Landcare groups - Waikato Regional Council: We have large amounts of natural resources in the Waikato region, and although rural and land-based businesses need to be profitable, it is also important they are sustainable. Landcare groups provide a structure for communities to take control of environmental issues themselves, allowing them to find solutions and take action.

Landcare Research: Landcare Research’s core purpose is to drive innovation in the management of terrestrial biodiversity and land resources.

New Zealand Landcare Trust: NZ Landcare Trust is an independent, non government organisation that was established in 1996. Over the years the Trust has worked on a range of field based projects - from large ‘catchment based’ projects that deal with complex issues to smaller, landcare groups with a local biodiversity focus.

This indicator is updated annually.