We have almost reached the halfway mark of delivering the Aotearoa Catchment Extension programme! What a year it has been so far for ACE – with the roll out of the online platform and the corresponding Knowledge Hubs, we are two modules down and have four to go.
The four Knowledge Hubs for the second ACE module, Strategic Leadership, have now been completed around Aotearoa and the success of such has cemented the need for this education opportunity in the catchment space.
Tony Watson (PeopleMAD) created the online module and came on board as the presenter for the two-day Knowledge Hubs, he was joined by professional facilitator Amy McLean. Between them they covered many topics and encouraged plenty of meaningful discussion around working with volunteers, the importance of succession planning, understanding different personality types, building culture and introducing the Te Whare Tapa Whā model.
With a great attendance number, participants were able to build off each other’s ideas and experiences and left the Knowledge Hubs with a workbook filled with notes, goals and a plan to take back to their groups and organisations.
The next three modules; Integrated Farm to Catchment Scale Planning, GMP and Mitigation Tools and Technologies, and Monitoring and Evaluation, will be held online in a series of webinars presented by a number of experts from these respective fields. The move online comes as a response to feedback received from participants as we move into a busy time in the agricultural calendar. Moving online does present a challenge in ensuring we keep the momentum going with the connection building opportunities which have proven incredibly valuable at the in-person events, however we are confident these connections will be continued through the regional Communities of Practice.
As the final module in the programme, Module Six - Engagement and Storytelling will return as an in-person Knowledge Hub in early 2025 to round off the project.
In between our planning and presenting we are also still adding resources to our Catchment Resources Database. We have collated some of the best catchment management resources from different organisations throughout Aotearoa and you can find them all under our ‘Resources’ tab. If your organisation has a resource that would be beneficial to catchment groups throughout Aotearoa, touch base with us and we can look at getting it added to our database!
