About Recloaking Waitaha
A 150-year commitment to restore Canterbury's indigenous cover — the land, the waterways, and the species that once thrived here.
The story
Canterbury has lost more than 95% of its native lowland forests. What once clothed the plains and foothills — podocarp forests, kahikatea wetlands, kanuka shrublands — has been stripped away over 150 years of settlement and agricultural development.
Recloaking Waitaha is founded on a simple but ambitious premise: if it took 150 years to decloak this landscape, let us take 150 years to recloak it.
This is not a quick fix. It is a generational commitment — a partnership between farmers, iwi, conservationists, investors, and communities who understand that the health of our land, water, and biodiversity is inseparable from our long-term prosperity.
The partnership
Recloaking Waitaha is co-led by two of Canterbury's largest irrigation schemes. Together, they manage water across the heart of the Canterbury Plains and are uniquely positioned to champion landscape-scale restoration.
Central Plains Water Ltd
CPWL delivers water to over 40,000 hectares across the Selwyn and Waimakariri districts. As co-funder and co-lead of Recloaking Waitaha, CPWL brings infrastructure scale and deep relationships with Canterbury landowners.
Waimakariri Irrigation Ltd
WIL operates the Waimakariri irrigation scheme in North Canterbury. As co-lead and co-funder, WIL brings a commitment to environmental stewardship and a network of progressive farming communities.
Key stakeholders
Restoration at this scale requires a coalition. These organisations bring the expertise, data, and on-the-ground capability to make Recloaking Waitaha work.
Brown Bread
(BB)Branding agency — crafting the visual identity and public narrative of the movement.
The Goodfellow Group
(TGGL)Ecology and landscape consultants — guiding site assessments and planting plans.
Waimakariri Biodiversity Trust
(WBT)Biodiversity data partner — long-term ecological monitoring and species surveys.
Ma Tatou
(MT)Investment and carbon credit partner — connecting restoration with ETS and biodiversity credit markets.
Environment Canterbury
(ECan)Regional council — regulatory alignment, environmental data, and catchment management.
Local iwi and hapu
Tangata whenua — cultural guidance, mahinga kai values, and shared governance of whenua.
Our vision
A Canterbury where indigenous ecosystems thrive alongside productive agriculture. Where waterways run clear through corridors of native bush. Where tūī and kerū are heard again across the plains. Where the next generation inherits a landscape richer than the one we found.
150 years to decloak. 150 years to recloak.