On Sunday 14 May, the Minister's Office announced the 2023 Hill Country Erosion Fund results (within a broader announcement of post-cyclone support in Tairāwhiti / Hawkes Bay).

The Hill Country Erosion Fund (HCEF) operates four-yearly contestable funding rounds and is open to proposals from regional councils and unitary authorities.  

Thanks to this funding, our SCAR programme will now extend to 2027. Previously in Hurunui and Kaikōura, the programme will be introduced into Waimakariri too.

North Canterbury/Ōpukepuke Councillors Grant Edge and Claire McKay welcome the funding boost for the already effective SCAR programme.

"We're delighted to have received the central government funding to continue this work," Councillor Edge said.

"The SCAR programme has already delivered so much great work alongside landowners in Hurunui and Kaikōura, so it's excellent to see this funding and the extension of the programme to Waimakariri as well," Councillor McKay said.

The SCAR programme

The SCAR programme started in 2019 to reduce the amount of sediment washed into waterways through erosion and provide funding for pole and native planting, fencing, and mapping support for landowners managing these areas.

The programme has funded 22,000 poles, retired over 500 hectares of highly erosion-prone land, and taken significant steps towards developing soil conservation expertise in Canterbury.