Ngā Puna Rau o Rangitīkei is a collaborative group made up of iwi and council representatives within the Rangitīkei catchment who have been working together over the last 7+ years. The group have been working to develop and implement a more strategic and collaborative approach to improving the health and well‐being of the Rangitīkei Awa.
Funded through the Te Mana o Te Wai and Jobs for Nature Funds, they have delivered a comprehensive programme of environmental work, including native tree planting and riparian enhancement work throughout the catchment, development of a cultural monitoring framework for the Awa which utilises Mātauranga Māori and western science, and development of a long‐term management Strategy and Action Plan for the Awa and its catchment.
In 2021, the iwi of Ngā Puna Rau o Rangitīkei also established a stand‐alone planting and fencing business to deliver riparian enhancement work throughout the catchment. Rangitīkei Environmental Operations (REO) Limited has helped to install over 68kms of fencing throughout the catchment and has planted over 210,000 native plants. REO is on target to have installed over 85kms of fencing and 366,000 native plants in the Rangitīkei by the end 2022.