Seed Collection For Heritage Trees

 

Many trees and plants that would once have been common on the Wairau Plain are not found here any more due to land clearance and drainage over the years.  Flax wetlands, swamp forests of kahikatea, pukatea, swamp maire and cabbage tree, and coastal forests and shrublands would once have been common, along with the birds, insects and fish that lived in these habitats. The council is involved in helping to restore some of these natural habitats, both on the public land it manages and through helping private landowners to plant trees and restore areas.

Some trees, like swamp maire, rimu, totara, kahikatea, matai and beech are now more or less locally extinct around the Blenheim area. By collecting seed from the few remaining trees hiding away in gullies and using the expertise of Morgans Road Nursery to propagate these, some of these species are now available again and are being planted into wetlands and other plantings.