What to report for Jobs for Nature

You'll get templates to help you report. The templates will cover all aspects of what you need to report on.

Overview of the type of information that will be in the templates:

• Employment
• Conservation outputs
• Potential conservation impacts/benefits to be reported
• Financials
• Health and safety
• Employee training
• Milestones
• COVID-19
• How to report

Employment

Employment is the cornerstone output of the Jobs for Nature programme.

The employment metrics to be reported are:

• Employment starts – number of new people employed over a given period.
• People currently employed – number of people employed at a given point in time.
• Total hours – total paid hours of all employed people.

Employment type:

• Part-time – number of people who have worked part-time (less than 30 hours per week) at a given point in time.
• Full-time – number of people who have worked full-time (30 or more hours per week) at a given point in time.
• Casual – number of casual contracts at a given point in time.

How to calculate employment metrics and definitions.

Conservation outputs

Various conservation outputs and potential impacts/benefits are required to be reported to measure the achievements towards a thriving Papatūānuku.

Report on the relevant conservation outputs. If you are completing the same activity, more than once in the same area (e.g., laying and checking traps), you only need to report it once – when you first conduct the activity. This should be reported in the next available quarterly report. You do not need to record the same activity a second or subsequent times. Examples of this are detailed under the relevant headings below. 

Animal pest control

Total hectares (ha) treated for:

• possums
• rats and/or mustelids
• goats
• deer
• wallaby
• other animal pests (specify).

Reported area can include where treatment and trigger monitoring is completed. Trigger monitoring is searching for pest with the intent take action when a threshold limit is reached.

You should only report the area treated once – when you first conduct the treatment. For example, if you treat 500 new hectares for possums (an area where you had not conducted any work previously, for example laying initial traps) and a month later you return to check the same traps, you should only record the hectares treated on the first occasion. This should be reported in the next available quarterly report. You do not need to record the same hectares a second or subsequent times. 

The only exception is if you are treating the same area for a different indicator. For example, if you are returning to the same area described above, but this time treating it for goats. In this example you would record the hectares treated again.   

Fencing

Total length (m) of:

• new fencing – total length (m) of new fencing constructed to standard over project period to manage pests, stock, riparian sites
• maintained existing fencing – total length (m) of current fencing maintained to standard over project period to manage pests, stock, riparian sites.

When recording the maintenance of fencing, you should only report the length maintained once - when you first maintain it. For example, you maintain 100 m of fencing (in an area where you have not conducted any work previously) and a month later you return to check its state, you should only record the meters maintained on the first occasion. This should be reported in the next available quarterly report. You do not need to record the same meters maintained a second or subsequent times. 

Weed pest control

Total hectares (ha) treated for:

• weeds – excluding wilding conifers
• wilding conifers – excluding other weeds

You should only report the area treated once – when you first conduct the treatment. For example, if you treat 100 new hectares for weeds (an area where you had not conducted any work previously) and a month later you return to the same area to check the treatment, you should only record the hectares treated on the first occasion. This should be reported in the next available quarterly report. You do not need to record the same hectares a second or subsequent times. 

Weeds

• Includes aquatic weeds, such as algae and invasive seaweeds.
• Includes activities such as tree releasing, or removing weeds in preparation for planting.

If the treatment would remove wilding conifers as a byproduct when it is not a target weed, then only report under "area treated for weeds".

If the area of weed control is targeting both wilding conifers and other weeds, this can be reported under both outputs:

• "area treated for weeds", and
• "area treated for wilding conifer".

Wilding conifers

If the treatment would remove other weeds as a byproduct when wilding conifer is the only target, then only report under "area treated for wilding conifers".

If the area of weed control is targeting both wilding conifers and other weeds, this can be reported under both outputs

• "area treated for weeds", and
• "area treated for wilding conifer".

Planting restoration

Total hectares (ha) restored and number of indigenous plants planted for:

• freshwater areas – riparian, lakes or wetlands
• other areas – not riparian, lakes or wetlands.

If the area was cleared of weeds in preparation for planting, or if the plants were released from weeds, report this under "area treated for weeds".

You should only report the area restored once – when you first conduct the restoration. For example, if you restore 10 new hectares (an area where you had not conducted any work previously) and a month later you return to check the treatment, you should only record the hectares restored on the first occasion. This should be reported in the next available quarterly report. You do not need to record the same hectares a second or subsequent times. 

Recreation

• Total number of huts to standard over period of project.
• Total kilometres of tracks to a standard over period of project.

You should only report huts or length of track maintained once – when you first conduct the maintenance. For example, if you maintain Hut A (a hut you had not maintained previously) and a month later you return to Hut A to conduct more maintenance, you should only record the hut on the first occasion. This should be reported in the next available quarterly report. You do not need to record the same hut a second or subsequent times. 

Historic/Cultural Heritage

• Historic heritage assets receiving remedial work – total number of assets maintained over period of project.

You should only report assets maintained once – when you first conduct the maintenance. For example, if you maintain Asset A (an asset you had not maintained previously) and a month later you return to Asset A to conduct more maintenance, you should only record the asset on the first occasion. This should be reported in the next available quarterly report. You do not need to record the same asset a second or subsequent times. 

Plant nursery work

Number of indigenous plants prepared and ready for restoration (count).

Excludes exotic plants.

Stock must be suitable for the area that it is supplying, for example, is complementary to the inherent local biodiversity of the area.

Stock must be appropriately sourced. For example:

• sourcing method is not destructive to the ecology of the area
• sourcing method has appropriate consents in place.

Potential conservation impacts/benefits to be reported

Biodiversity

• Number of actively managed ecosystem manamagent units (EMUs) – increase in priority EMUs and species management units (SMUs) fully managed.
• Ecosystem representation in managed sites – more ecosystem types are represented in managed EMUs.
• Ecosystem condition in managed sites –higher estimated integrity of managed ecosystems.
• Species representation in managed sites – threatened species have populations greater than 1 in a managed site.
• Species persistence in managed sites – increase of threatened or at-risk species have enough populations adequately managed for persistence.

Freshwater

• Number of rivers under management – river catchments protected and restored for long-term resilience and progress to conservation of a representative range of freshwater catchments.
• Improved stakeholder satisfaction – stakeholders actively involved.
• Migratory freshwater fish management and security – assured long-term persistence of migratory fish species across their range.
• Invasive aquatic pest management – increased number of pest control programmes.

Marine

Improved security of marine species – number of fishing methods where impact is reduced and number of fishing methods where liaison is undertaken.

Pest control and biodiversity

• Tahr distribution and density – tahr numbers and distribution comply with statutory plan.
• No new pest establishments – early detection and effective responses for island biosecurity.

Financial

Financial reporting is required to demonstrate our fiscal responsibility. Additionally, it is important for us to understand your funding arrangements, including whether your project is also funded by other parties (called co-funding). We need to take this information into account to accurately report against Jobs for Nature funding.

Requested financial information will include:

• proposed budget for your Projects
• a summary of expenditure to date, actual against budgeted, and
• a summary of funding and co-funding received for your Projects.

Capital Assets 

Most Jobs for Nature Funding Agreements have a Capital Assets clause worded as below:

1. 31. If you use any part of the Funding to purchase or develop any capital asset valued at more than $20,000 (plus GST, if any) and, at any point during the Term of this Agreement or during the 5 years after the End Date, either:
   32. a) you sell, dispose or transfer that capital asset, without DOC’s prior written consent; or
   33. b) the capital asset will no longer be used for the purpose intended by DOC at the time this Agreement was entered into (or as otherwise later agreed with DOC),

then you must immediately repay to DOC an amount equal to the current market value of that capital asset up to the amount of the Funding used by you in the purchase or development of that capital asset, as determined by DOC. 

DOC therefore needs to work with you on ensuring we have a joint understanding of the use, sale, disposal, or transfer of these assets. This clause is valid for five years after the project completion date, so it is worth having these conversations early if the final intent of the asset is known.  

For further detail head to the Partner Kete, contact your Delivery Manager or email JobsforNature@doc.govt.nz

Health and Safety

As the administrator of funding, we aim to ensure that workers go home safe and healthy every day, and that all duties are fulfilled under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015. A part of this is the requirement to report on health and safety.

There are specific things you need to report. 

More about what to report for health and safety.

Employee training

Nature-based employment can provide upskilling opportunities and improve future career prospects for those employed by the programme.

The employee training measures to be reported are:

• formal training – number of people in formal training.
• formal training completion – number of people who have completed formal training.
• NZQA credits  – number of NZQA credits earned.

Formal training is training provided:

• by an established or recognised training institution, or
• where industry-recognised certificates or credits can be obtained.

Milestones

You'll be required to outline key milestones, linked to grant payments in the funding agreement, for your project.

We’ll ask for information about project activities and other matters that demonstrate project progress. We'll also ask for information such as:

• risks
• media and promotional activity, and
• the use of contractors and sub-contractors.

COVID-19

You will be asked if and how your project has been impacted by COVID-19 during the reporting period, the milestones affected, alterative work completed and details about any subsidies claimed.

How to report

There are different ways you can report.

How to report on your Jobs for Nature project.