Learning about how things once were and being inspired by what they could be, is what drove this award-winning farmer to reconnect people with a local waterway.
Inside Dairy
1 min read
From left, DairyNZ chair Tracy Brown, winner Stu Muir, Minister for the Environment Nicola Grigg and Dairy Environment Leaders chair Amber Carpenter.
Waiuku dairy farmer Stu Muir has been recognised with the inaugural Kaitiaki Award at the Dairy Environment Leaders (DEL) Forum, honouring his long-standing commitment to environmental restoration and community leadership.
The award recognises Stu’s commitment to kaitiakitanga, his contribution to the DEL programme and the positive impact he’s had on both his farm and the Lower Waikato River Delta.
A fifth-generation farmer, Stu has quietly led one of the dairy sector’s most powerful environmental restoration stories. What were once degraded, weed-choked waterways on his 500-cow farm are now thriving ecosystems with native species returning and water flowing again.
“My family has a long connection with Ngati Te Ata a Waiohua and Ngati Tipa, our neighbours and this area, so you learn a lot about how things were and how things could be,” Stu says.
“When you’re brought up in the country and you see things degrading, you’ve got two options. You can either do nothing and whinge about it or you can quietly get stuck in and make a difference.” Stu chose the latter, working alongside others across the Mangati Stream catchment to restore waterways and reconnect the public with the landscape.
His proudest achievement has been opening up the entire Mangati Stream and creating a public walkway.
“It was the lifeblood and way of getting from the Waikato River to the Manukau Harbour and the north. By opening it up and building boardwalks, it helps intergenerational change because people can experience it.”
Stu has been involved with DEL since its inception in 2007 and says the programme helps to create sector leaders by connecting farmers with catchment groups, councils and others working to drive positive and sustainable environmental change.
“You get to listen to other farmers and hear from other people who broaden your mind and encourage lateral thinking.
“If you want intergenerational change you have to collaborate with people and that’s the strength of the DEL organisation.”
Ready to be a Dairy Environment Leader? Find out more at dairynz.co.nz/del
Listen to more about Stu Muir’s journey in this episode of Talking Dairy
This article was originally published in Inside Dairy August-October 2026.
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