2024
Planted Indigenous Forest Certificate Issued
There is an optional registration process for planted indigenous forests. It is ostensibly used for forests grown for timber and differentiates a designated area from natural indigenous forests. The registration process identifies both the area and tree species planted, allowing for the future felling of those trees without opposition from the Department of Conservation...more
I uploaded a video to the Kauri Trees YouTube channel about the rainstorm event we had in October 2024. Then I was contacted by Jasmine Holman from Dunedin. She offered me some kauri tree seedlings that were excess to her requirements and needed a good home. I was delighted and made arrangements to pick them up immediately…more
When I was in contact with Greg Steward from Scion Research about my tentative plans to plant a Kauri forest, he told me of a small stand of kauri in Taieri North that he had visited in 2014 to conduct a tree growth measurement study. With the nurse tree planting completed and the gorse cut, I had some time to search out this stand…more
Scion Research Assessment Visit
When I was removing the eucalyptus trees in March 2024, I spoke to Scion Research emeritus scientist Greg Steward and updated him on the project. He said that he raises it whenever he gets the chance. His efforts have produced a result...more
Completing Nurse Tree Planting
Phil Dunn from Ribbonwood Nurseries had already given Glen Riley from Habitat Restorations and myself the news that there would not be enough trees to complete Area 3 before planting started on 28 August 2024. We had a cold May and some of the trees needed more growing time at the nursery…more
Feral animal incursion is probably my greatest concern. It’s one thing to have friends and neighbours willing to come to the property to shoot goats, deer, sometimes possums, and the occasional hare, but it’s preferrable to prevent incursion…more
I arrived in Taieri Beach a few weeks before Area 2 was sprayed by Habitat Restorations. For most of the time, I cut gorse growing at the interface between the pasture and the existing forest. It seemed like a never-ending task, but I finished clearing Area 2 just prior to the planting team starting work…more
I had long wanted to stamp the Kauri Trees property with a sign declaring its future. Clutha District Council by-laws restricted the maximum size, so I applied and received a concession…more
To improve the understanding of the growth of Kauri trees at 46 degrees south, it will be useful to correlate tree growth with seasonal weather data, and climate change. Capturing primary weather conditions may help develop Kauri tree growth models, so if another grower wants to plant Kauri, they should be able to estimate growth based on their own climate…more
Finding someone to remove the trees was more difficult than I thought. Two dozen trees does not a forest make, and logging contractors drop hundreds or thousands of trees when they come to site. A casual chainsaw user might cut the trees, but the job required expertise to protect both the existing indigenous forest and the fence line running through the middle of the stand…more
Area 1 Nurse Tree Planting – 7 Months and One Summer Has Passed
I returned to Taieri Beach in March 2024 – the first time since the Area 1 nurse trees were planted in August 2023. My return was delayed whilst I arranged for the removal of the two dozen eucalyptus trees in Area 2.
During my absence, the nurse trees were attacked by feral goats, and more recently, deer...more
By May 2023, I was fortunate to obtain 34,000 Kauri seeds from three separate locations in the North Island: Whangarei/Mangamuka, Thames (Coromandel Peninsula), and Te Puna (near Tauranga). One year on, I was keen to see how many had germinated and survived through the Dunedin winter at Ribbonwood Nurseries....more
2023
Ekos Southern Kauri Forest Project
Following completion of planting the nurse trees in Area 1 in August 2023, Ekos published an interview with Peter Parsons about the Kauri forest project…more
A call from a visiting contractor alerted me to three goats in amongst the new nurse trees planted in Area 1 during August 2023. I was in Melbourne at the time, and felt vulnerable…more
Following completion of their house, my neighbours have generously offered me their converted garage to stay in when I’m at the property. Fantastic! Now I can walk to work…more
7,325 nurse trees were planted in the 6.5 ha of Area 1 by Habitat Restorations Aotearoa in August 2023. Glen Riley, together with a crew of 4 or 5 committed conservationists worked through some harsh weather to plant an average of 560 trees per day. I helped out, folding the plant guards, picking up empty pots, and cooking the occasional barbecue…more
The Otago Daily Times published a positive news article on 21 June 2023 that profiles the Kauri Trees forest. Hopefully, there can be a follow-up article when the Kauri trees go into the ground...more
With the first 7,200 nurse trees due to be planted in August 2023, I need to establish the route of the walking track before the nurse trees are planted. I bought 250 600 mm stakes from Cargill Enterprises in Dunedin, and set about to define the future track…more
By February 2023 my plans were progressing well for the development of the Kauri forest. The only part missing was the Kauri trees! I knew that all would come to nought if I couldn’t source Kauri cones from which to extract the seeds. The season to collect mature cones was upon us, and if I missed it, my program would be set back a year...more
Thanks to a mention by Scion‘s retiring Kauri scientist Greg Steward, we got some air time on Radio New Zealand with Jesse Mulligan on 26 April 2023 to introduce the Kauri forest project to listeners…more
I’ve been fortunate to receive wonderful support from Phil Dunn and his staff at Ribbonwood Nurseries in Dunedin. Phil has been running the nursery for around 40 years, propagating exclusively indigenous plants. He mostly collects his own seeds from around Dunedin, so the plants that result are already adapted to the local environment...more
My first opportunity to visit the Kauri Trees property since I purchased it in April 2022, came in August 2022. It was shortly after lifting of travel restrictions between Australia and New Zealand, imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus…more
Wenita Forest Products’ Kauri Trees
Wenita Forest Products is my western boundary neighbour. Wenita has 30,000 ha of pine forest under management. They’ll be felling some trees on a block on my eastern boundary and I received a call from James McEwan about access along an unformed road on the perimeter of the boundary. I talked to James about my plans to create a Kauri forest, and he said that Wenita had some Kauri trees growing on one of their blocks in Akatore. If I wanted to see them, he’d take me over. Well, I jumped at the chance to see some Kauri trees growing at -46 degrees latitude…more
Glen Riley from Habitat Restorations Aotearoa discussed with me the need to reduce feral animals on the property (hares, possums, rats, stoats, and the occasional goats and wild pigs). A local hunter Bryan Scott was coming onto the property regularly to shoot hares, but a more comprehensive program would be required to protect the new trees…more
2022
Nursery & Planting Program Development
Following my meeting and proposal presentation with Scion in Rotorua in August 2022, I met with Scion’s Toby Stovold and Phil Dunn, the owner of Ribbonwood Native Nurseries on the property. Toby has many years experience in forestry and Phil has been growing indigenous plants in Dunedin for more than 40 years…more
There is 8 ha of virgin indigenous forest in two gullies on the site. The pasture extends to the edges of the relatively steep gully sides. The steep slopes would have made it too difficult to clear, replant in grass, and support stock. Fortunately, this constraint meant that the forest has never been cut…more
My first opportunity to visit the Kauri Trees property since I purchased it in April 2022, came in August 2022. It was shortly after lifting of travel restrictions between Australia and New Zealand, imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus…more
