A family restoration project in the Win Valley
Winifred Long, an avid conservationist, together with her daughter Jenny Long, and her daughter’s partner, Joris Tinnemans, own a 16-hectare property in the Win Valley, Dovedale. The three purchased the property in March last year, with Winifred moving down from Wellington the Tasman District to join Joris and Jenny in pursuing their long held dreams of living rurally, learning to farm at a small scale, and restoring a piece of land in Aotearoa to a more natural state.
The land, originally owned by brothers within the Win family (after which the valley is named) but with several owners since being sold out of the Win family in the 1940s, is mainly pastoral and they have a flock of around 30 Coopworth sheep, two horses, and three hens. The aspects of the property that made it stand out from the rest and captured their attention were the extensive native plantings already under way thanks to the previous owner, the slightly weedy but large wetland, the Win Valley stream running through the land, the artificial lake, and multiple springs. An added bonus was the beautiful house built in 1879 by Edwin (Ned) Win, located in the centre of the property. The house is well-maintained yet retains nearly all of its original character (see below).
As part of their baseline assessments at Win Valley, they’ve looked into:
- attributes of the property including weather patterns and seasonal variations in temperature. The area is subject to high temperatures and dryness in summer, with low night-time temperatures including frosts in winter.
- investigating what bird species are present through sound recorders and trail cameras, including native and introduced. So far, eight endemic bird species have been seen or heard, four indigenous non-endemic species and seven introduced species. Endemic birds have included Pīwakawaka (Fantail), Kārearea (NZ Falcon), Kererū, Korimako (Bellbird), Pūtangitangi (Paradise shelduck), Ruru, Tūī, and Weka. Skinks are also present on the property with sightings at four locations.
- Monitoring animal pests through camera surveillance (10 camera locations). Six predatory mammalian species have been detected to date, the most common being possums which made up 53% of the predator sightings, followed by cats (23%).
- Assessing the location, scale, and species of weeds present, including those which are identified in TDC’s Weed Plan. Most of the restoration sites are weedy, particularly with blackberry, hawthorn and gorse.
- Beginning to monitor water quality of the Win Valley Stream together with a neighbour using a SHMAK kit. See related story – https://motuekacatchment.org.nz/win-valley-locals-monitoring-the-stream-they-live-by/.
- Categorising the property into 18 environmental enhancement areas
- Beginning to develop a restoration plan with a structured approach to monitoring, actions, and outcomes.
As Winnie says: “Doing so much monitoring in advance of taking action isn’t for everyone. However, it does have huge benefits including identifying pest species to target as control methods differ by species. It can be really motivating to set some clear goals, then be able to track progress towards them, which isn’t so easy to do if you jump straight into planting, weeding and trapping etc. “
The three-some’s restoration goals as taken from their draft Restoration Plan are three-fold:
- increase biodiversity through planting and creating supportive ecosystems for native species
- reduce or eliminate weed cover of invasive species
- Maintain or improve the quality of the Win Valley Stream as it leaves the property.
One particularly important priority area for restoration is the large wetland in the southern part of the property. This has been fenced off and is reverting to wilderness, however weeds have taken hold and need to be removed for the native biodiversity to thrive. The wetland currently isn’t classified on the TDC’s maps or plans, but a Tasman District Council freshwater scientist has been to visit the property to help understand its values and attributes and restoration needs. One of the first things Winnie wants to get on with is inventorying the native species in the wetland.
Winnie comments “We want to investigate and identify what the current issues are with an area such as the wetland, utilise knowledge of others to identify realistic solutions to ensure that these are the right thing to do, come up with a plan of attack, and then get on with the plan. We don’t want to do something that in hindsight was not a good idea.”
There are a number of other waterways on the property. As well as the Win Valley Stream which flows along the western, roadside boundary, there are two ponds with evidence of further wet areas in other locations. The ponds appear to be fed by springs or an underground stream and are seasonal, largely drying up in the summer although some areas stayed wet even through last year’s drought. The family has nicknamed one of the wet areas the ‘sausage pond’ because of its shape. The photo shows it covered in a green duck weed (Lemna spp), which Winnie says is probably native. New plantings have been added to older ones alongside the sausage pond, along with some surveillance of animal pests and some live capture cat traps.
These landowners are using baseline environmental information and a restoration plan to guide their efforts to keep building on the huge amount of native planting the former owner had already carried out, and will be looking at ways to fund the further restoration costs, which will not be cheap, particularly the weeding burden and the planting plans (what else?). Since March last year progress has included:
- The construction of a nursery area for propagating natives (see photo)
- Beginning blackberry control around wetland areas
- Some planting around the property (approximately 1,500 plants have been planted since the owners have moved in, thanks to donations from MCC and a local person who propagates natives, as well as seedlings that Winnie, Joris and Jenny have grown on themselves)
- Small scale predator trapping
Winnie observes “It will be exciting to see the project unfold. It will be daunting and challenging but achievable if we take it in small steps and celebrate success along the way. The support of the local community and external organisations such as MCC and TDC will be important part of achieving success”.