Native trees return homegrown look to Hanmer Springs

The woodlands around Hanmer Springs will take on a distinctly Kiwi feel thanks to a native tree replanting programme bringing New Zealand flora back to the area.

Matariki Forests, owner of the nearby Hanmer Forest, has worked with Hanmer Springs School to reintroduce a wide variety of New Zealand native plants to a wetland area in the forest.

Year 7 and 8 students from the school have worked to prepare the area with weeding and clearing, which they then repopulated with a total of 150 new plants including flax, black beech, pepperwood, manuka and cabbage trees.  The trees are all naturally occurring in the region and their continued planting over the course of the next three years will encourage their regeneration around Hanmer Springs.

Brendan Wright, Principal of Hanmer Springs School, believes the opportunity to help shape the local environment is one that the students have taken real benefit from.

“Hanmer Springs is an important part of our community and of particular relevance to our school.  Working with Rayonier Matariki Forests to help reintroduce native species to the area has taught the students a great deal about sustainable growth and developing the natural environment,” he says.

“It was an opportunity to not only be involved with a beautification project that will add immeasurably to the landscape, but also to further educate our students on the significance of this particular area of wetland and of the plants we are introducing.”

The wetland where the replanting has taken place is a high public use area with a number of walking and mountain bike tracks. Once completed, the renewed vegetation will have a positive effect on the area’s ecosystem, with the wetland acting as a natural filter to trap sediment and organic carbon, resulting in better quality water flowing through into Hanmer Springs.  The wetlands will also provide a habitat for a range of aquatic life.

Rayonier | Matariki Forests Canterbury Environmental Coordinator Johan Visscher is pleased to have had the help of Hanmer Springs School on the important community and environmental project. 

“Working with the school has been a fantastic experience for all involved.  Rayonier Matariki Forests staff have enjoyed imparting their silvicultural expertise to the younger generation and teaching them about the role these trees play in the balance of the environment.  It has brought a real sense of ownership to both students and Rayonier Matariki Forests crew,” says Visscher.

“We hope having a hands-on experience with the reintroduction of these native species to the area will develop environmental consciousness with the students, the school and the community, just as it has for our staff.”

Over the next three years, Rayonier | Matariki Forests will continue to work with community groups to improve and upgrade the area by recovering native seedlings for transplant from the under storey of exotic plantations within their forest and introducing more nursery reared plants.