Land

The Sustainable Hill Country Project

Tree planting is a requirement on Overlay 3A erosion-prone land.  Land owners/managers of the most erosion-prone land are to establish trees or shrubs, and to maintain tree cover already present on such land. 

Afforestation Grant Scheme

As part of the government's package of climate change initiatives this scheme offers landowners grants to establish forests.  A portion of the funds have been made available to Gisborne District Council.

Hill country farming

Sheep and beef farming remains the predominant land use in Gisborne district. Most farms are owner-occupied and some have been in the same family for 5 or 6 generations. 

The Poverty Bay flats

The soils of the Poverty Bay flats (aside from a sandy band running parallel to the coastline) generally comprise quite fine-textured silts and clays. These soils retain sufficient water to allow crops such as grapes to thrive locally without irrigation. On the flip side, the same soils, having high water-holding capacities, are therefore prone to ponding during wet weather, when heavy classes of stock, such as dairy cattle, would cause serious pugging and compaction.

Wetlands

Wetlands under restoration include Oranga wetland at Nicks Head Station, Wherowhero lagoon and Tarau Valley wetland.