Hosted by Thriving Southland (TS), the evening also included a panel discussion with experts from Beef + Lamb New Zealand, LandPro, Environment Southland and DairyNZ who answered questions about the National Environmental Standards for Freshwater.
TS interim project lead Richard Kyte said most people there wanted further information about the new regulations, and what they meant for them and their businesses.
"It was informative, and farmers and community members were able to talk to the panellists, ask questions and hear their views.
"There was also enough interest to possibly look at starting a catchment group."
He told the audience about the support TS offered the groups.
"All catchment groups are independent and Thriving Southland supports them with advice and resources, and help with what they want to do and how they want to run the group, to get them up and running.
"The key message is they are a farmer-run group, with their ideas and their projects.
"Each catchment group has its own focus and flavour.
"We are just there to provide support to enable them to achieve their goals and provide opportunities to engage."
TS interim chairman and board member Ewen Mathieson, who also belongs to the Pourakino Catchment Group, talked about how to go about establishing a group, what to consider and where to go for resources and support.
"The key points were about bringing people together and understanding the challenges and how best to respond to those challenges.
"We don’t tell them what to do; we enable them to understand at their pace and under their instructions."
