Seaward.

Native Planting.

Project partner: Te Ara Kākāriki

These landowners aim to increase biodiversity, with a particular focus on birdlife. Their long-term vision is to plant the majority of their lifestyle block in native species — creating a forest for future generations. The Hororata site includes a rain-fed pond within the planting area.

Planting day.

With a funding grant from the Environmental Management Fund (EMF) and led by Te Ara Kākāriki.

The first step to ensure the long-term health of the ecosystem was the development of a restoration plan, this included analysis of the soil type, consideration of the site conditions and characteristics, along with a list of species most suitable for the site.

The plan helped guide the selection off appropriate native species, once this was completed and the site was prepared a community Plant out day was arranged. Volunteers planted 500 native seedlings, while learning about planting Greendots, and the significant ecological gains of these stepping-stones – creating valuable habitat and supporting native species across the wider landscape.

Greendots are small but powerful pockets of regeneration – are beginning to dot the landscape across the catchment. Each site contains at least 500 native plants and is designed to replicate the forest types that once covered the region – in this case a beech forest.