Much of New Zealand’s lowland agricultural land was developed by converting vast areas of wetland into pasture through land drainage. This began in the late 19th century, and by the 1960s most of New Zealand’s lowland wetlands were converted to agriculture. These drainage schemes are not only essential to some of our most productive industries but are steeped in a history of back-breaking pioneering and form part of the identity of many rural New Zealanders. With their straight lines and deeply incised channels, agricultural drains are often seen to have low ecological value. However, because they are the remnants of vast areas of wetland, they often make up the only remaining habitat for freshwater species. Living Water has conducted trials looking at alternative ways to manage waterways while maintaining drainage functions, including sediment traps, channel shading to reduce weed growth, bank reshaping, two-stage channels and instream habitat enhancements. However, while generally successful, these trials have been at a small-scale and therefore lack a holistic perspective which could be gained from a catchment scale approach. One of our key lessons learnt is the efficiency of working at catchment scale. The reimagining the Ararira project focused on building a picture of what alternative waterway management could look like, suggesting what it would cost and deliver in terms of ecological and cultural outcomes. This project has benefited from the direction and leadership of specialist environmental consultants, key local authority staff and mana whenua. Through this process of co-design, we aim to create enduring outcomes for the rural community, mana whenua and the environment by matching management techniques to problems or values across the network.