Planning the Restoration Project
Inspiration from other Hauraki Gulf island projects
"This booklet has been prepared as a guide to the basic task of native revegetation. The natural environment of Waiheke is examined and the natural forest cover, both present and historic, is described. Guidelines for forest remnant restoration are given, including species lists and planting regimes. Invasive weed control is outlined for improving the health of remaining forest remnants. Ecosystem restoration and revegetation are rapidly gaining momentum as people realise the significance of healthy, functioning environments."
- Excerpt from 'Greening our Gulf Islands' -
* Restore native ecosystems
* Replant several hundred hectares in native forest
* Collect and propagate seeds from indigenous plant stock
* Protect the growing volunteer forest from plant pests
* See the removal of the seven remaining animal pests
* Re-introduce threatened species of plants, birds, reptiles and invertebrates
- Motutapu Restoration Trust Aims -
"There are many islands in the Hauraki Gulf, all with different characteristics and potential. Several of the inner gulf islands are undergoing restoration programmes and each has its own particular focus."
- Motuihe Restoration Plan -
The replanting programme began on Tiri in 1984, to restore the native plants destroyed by farming. This project involved thousands of volunteers, and was completed in 1994. Central to the planting project was the establishment of a nursery on the island to propagate seed gathered from the surviving trees. Pohutukawa was the main tree initially replanted. This fast growing tree forms a canopy for other slower growing species, shading out the thick grass and providing shelter from the exposed conditions. Taraire, kohekohe, puriri, and many others were later planted once the pohutukawa cover had been established.
- Tiritiri Matangi - Revegetation -
Glenfern Sanctuary is an attempt to redress the balance over a small but significant ecosystem which may act as an incentive to others to do likewise - part of the 230ha Kotuku Peninsula in the north of Great Barrier Island and the result of 15 years hard work. Over 9,000 native trees have been planted and there is an extensive track network, though while the native bush is regenerating rats and cat, pigs and dogs are still decimating our remaining wildlife.
The goal of the Trust is to ecologically restore around 750ha of privately owned land on south eastern Great Barrier. The objective is to reduce the densities of invasive pests sufficiently to allow the reintroduction of species, with a particular focus on birds. This area of the island has long been considered ecologically significant. It is remote, has very little development, and has large areas of undisturbed coastal broadleaf-podocarp mature forest.
- Windy Hill/Rosalie Bay Catchment Trust - Great Barrier -
