In 2006, dairy farmers in the Aorere Catchment of New Zealand began to investigate allegations that they had a pollution problem affecting the viability of the community's shellfish industry. From 2007 to 2010, the New Zealand Landcare Trust's Aorere Catchment Project (ACP) helped farmers engage in actions to improve conditions in their waterways. Community involvement was a primary objective of the project and served as a major indicator of success. The actions farmers took to protect waterways and resultant improvements in water quality were also used to assess the efficacy of the project. This article discusses the underlying issues, the setting and the project, an evaluation of the project, and the results. Conclusions contrasting the situation in 2007 and 2010 show that great strides were made in terms of community involvement and application of best management practices, and there is evidence that this has resulted in improved water quality and safer conditions for shellfish harvesting.