Update from the Biodiversity and Restoration Thematic Group – 2004 so far!

Kia ora koutou,

We wanted to update the wider catchment community about some of the areas we have been focusing on this year so far:

Native plants & Trees That Count (TTC) trees: 5000 trees were donated to MCC from TTC, and these have now been allocated. The huge response means allocations for each person / property are not high, but every plant helps! Ngā mihi nui to our catchment community for such an awesome response!

Projects: The BAR group are assessing some community project applications and we’re hoping to support several on the ground projects with native plants. It is great to see sub-catchment projects starting to emerge. We are beginning to collaborate with other MCC thematic groups (including Pest Management and River Access/Recreation) as well as other stakeholders to maximise the benefits.

Community Nurseries: The four catchment nurseries are working together to grow extra plants (including wetland species) to support B&R projects next year. These plants would be extra to those we hope to purchase from our awesome specialist native nurseries in the area. On top of this, the community nurseries continue to share plants with their sub catchment members whenever possible, as well as sharing knowledge and experience with people new to it.

Schools: B&R is providing funds for one of the catchment schools to create a native nursery. We are collaborating with Tasman Bay Guardians so that the school can also receive learning support during their propagation journey. The nursery is an action that came out of their freshwater inquiry through the Whitebait Connection programme.

Events: The B&R group has run three successful events so far this year. These were the Native Resilience workshop, Seed Collection workshop and the Native Planting and Co-benefits workshop. It was great to see a range of new and familiar faces as our propagation and planting community continues to develop and grow.

Ngā mihi nui, Kate Radloff on behalf of the Biodiversity and Restoration Thematic Group.