Showcasing Our Winter 2024 Plantings
Blog post.
Tom Mackay-Smith and Raphael Spiekermann
10/1/20243 min read
This week, we're showcasing a selection of farms we've planted this winter 2024. Our planting sites span across Taranaki, Auckland, Hawke's Bay, and the Wairarapa.
Our plantings include a diverse range of native species: lemonwood, kānuka, tōtara, pūriri, rewarewa, kapuka, karo, red māpou, kōhūhū, makomako, and houhere. We're eager to discover which of these native trees will thrive as silvopastoral species in various regions, considering different slope classes, soil types, and aspects across the North Island.
This site is collaborating with the Native Forest Restoration Trust, with funding support from the Toi Foundation. The trust wanted to plant a canopy species (rewarewa) for bird corridors alongside mānuka and kānuka on a site with significant goat pressure.
Taranaki
At this site, we planted kānuka and rewarewa at a density of 65 stems per hectare, collaborating with the Toi Foundation and Taranaki Regional Council.
Auckland
The two sites below compare survival and growth rates of tōtara, pūriri, kānuka, and poplar wands at coastal and inland properties in the Kaipara catchment, Auckland Region. Both sites have been planted at ~13 m spacings. We are collaborating with the Kaipara Moana Remediation (KMR) and Auckland Council on these projects.
Hawke’s Bay
These two sites feature kānuka and rewarewa plantings on steep, dry, and highly erodible hill country in Hawke's Bay, working with Hawke’s Bay Regional Council. Both farmers and the council are keen to identify native species that can thrive in dry hill country where poplar and willow are challenging or difficult to establish.
Wairarapa
Lastly, these two sites showcase kānuka plantings with a density of 40 stems per hectare. We think kānuka at this density on steep hill country will have a great chance of boosting pasture production. Greater Wellington Regional Council has provided funding to support planting at these sites.
We’d like to say a big thank you to all the farmers we have collaborated with in Winter 2024, in addition to all the organisations that have helped fund our plantings this year.
