Training Videos and Workshops for Best-Practice Restoration

Project Status: Completed

Introduction

The Department of Conservation’s Community Fund has partially funded this project to provide training videos and contribute to workshops and other events promoting best-practice restoration of indigenous ecosystems by planting and natural regeneration. The project is in collaboration with community groups, iwi and landowners, Department of Conservation, regional, district and city councils, NZ Farm Forestry Association, The Tindall Foundation, The Project Crimson Trust and Trees That Count, research providers, and regional staff of the One-Billion-Trees Programme.

Video series

Over 20 videos were completed and are available free online via the Tāne’s Tree Trust website https://www.tanestrees.org.nz/resources/videos/. Broad areas covered by the videos include:

• Planting and managing natives at scale
• Reducing costs of raising native seedlings
• Regeneration of natives, working with nature
• Sustainable management for multiple purposes
• Corridor planting of riparian and roading networks
• Monitoring success of native plantings
• Case studies of established and managed natives

Workshops

A number of well attended workshops were held by the Tāne’s Tree Trust project team throughout the project. Two examples per year include:

2020/21

1. Tuhaitara Coastal Park, North Canterbury, September 2020: field-based workshop with staff, students and rangers of Te Kohaka o Tuhaitara Trust on planting of natives converted from pines.
2. Native planting workshop, Te Miro, Waikato, Nov 2020: attended by TTT members, NZFFA Waikato and BOP members, WRC, MPI, TUR, Waipa DC, TTC/PC.

2021/22

3. TTC and Aorangi Restoration Trust WaiP2K forum, Carterton, Wairarapa, March 2022: Presentation to TTC and Aorangi Restoration Trust WaiP2K forum meeting at Carterton Court House - 30 attendees - covering planting sites, remeasuring monitoring plots as part of the Tonganui landowner planting programme.
4. NZ Institute of Forestry, Rotorua, June 2022: TTT presentation on planting and management of natives to NZIF CNI branch, consultants, foresters, forestry students and staff from Toi Ohomai Polytechnic.

2022/23

5. Manawahe Ecological Community Trust, BOP, August 2022: TTT presentation and field trip to 100 attendees of the Manawahe landcare group, farmers, council staff, conservationists.
6. The Connective, TTT, Ngā Pou a Tāne, Scion workshop, Northland, September 2023: numerous NZ and international stakeholders in CCF topics (50-70 participants), MPI, NZFFA, NZIF…

Case studies

A minimum of six case studies (two per year) of best practice establishment of natives have been profiled covering a range of landscapes nationwide. Examples include:

1. Cassie’s Farm, Waikato – 35 ha of steep hill country retired from pasture to planted native forest, including silviculture of planted podocarps and releasing from overtopping planted nurse cover.
2. Tairāwhiti, Waikereru Ecosanctuary – 100 ha of successful natural regenerating kānuka due to pest animal and bird predator control and interplanted with native tree species as seed islands to boost local seed sources.
3. Kawhia dune native ecosystem restoration – multiple demonstration sites set up, maintained and monitored to replace pines with coastal native forest, wetland and dune buffers.
4. Pāmu stations in Otago and Southland – demonstration of large-scale planting of natives along riparian zones and retired erosion-prone hill country.
5. Moutere catchment, Nelson – in collaboration with Tasman Environmental Trust, large scale fencing, planting and monitoring of waterways and planting with native wetland, shrubland and forest species to improve water quality, biodiversity.
6. Kapiro Station, Northland – sustainable management of regenerating tōtara on farms demonstrating continuous cover forestry methods for extraction of high value timber.

Collaboration

Feedback from users of the videos and attendees at workshops and field trips directly funded by this DOCCF project has been overwhelmingly supportive and appreciative of the latest best-practice practical guidelines provided. Tāne’s Tree Trust will continue to promote the videos and best-practice demonstrations of integrating natives into our working landscapes to achieve multiple benefits.

We have appreciated the support from the DOC Funds Team and the contract managers throughout this project. The flexibility in selection of priority content for the videos has enabled us to cover the main issues of planting, pest animal control, encouraging natural reversion, importance of maintenance and monitoring for success for practitioners and those implementing establishment and management of native ecosystems to meet environmental and cultural objectives.

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