Native plants given good start at Te Taha

Community members, sponsors and partners came together at Te Taha / The Gap last Saturday morning for the first official community planting day to help restore the rare Napier ecosystem.

Three hundred plants endemic to the beach ecosystem were planted, nurtured, and weeded by around fifty volunteers from groups including the local Rotary Club of Ahuriri Sunrise with the Interact Clubs of Napier, the Westshore Residents and Development Association, Napier Forest and Bird, and Te Taiwhenua o Te Whanganui ā Orotu.

Facilitated by Biodiversity Hawke’s Bay, the multi-year project to protect and enhance this important ecosystem is sponsored by the Hawke’s Bay Airport and supported by Napier and Hastings councils.

Biodiversity Hawke’s Bay general manager, Debbie Monahan said “It’s great to see a project that has been in the plans and minds of many for a number of years take another significant step forward.”

Ecologist Kay Griffiths from The Conservation Company led the day, with the three native plant species (Coprosma acerosa, Muehlenbeckia ephedroides and Pimelea xenica), eco-sourced and supplied by Marie Taylor at Plant Hawke’s Bay.

Ms Griffiths says it is awesome to supplement the natural populations of these three plant species, and to have so many members of the community along to help is just brilliant.

“We are happy to be focusing on three areas for replanting to start off with, to ensure we can maintain these for the long term, as ongoing weeding around the new plants is going to be the challenge from now on.” 

The plants were given an extra helping hand with a generous donation of rich vermicast (worm castings) from MyNoke to kick-start their growth.

MyNoke are the world’s largest earthworm farms, accepting various organic waste materials from industry and local councils, which is then transported to their worm farms, and mixed to create the optimum diet for a range of earthworm species.

The waste is reduced by close to 80% as the earthworms process it, and a rich, valuable soil conditioner, ‘Vermicast’ results which is used to improve soil health and plant growth.

This is one of many local community projects with the aim of protecting and enhancing biodiversity in Hawke’s Bay. To find out more about similar groups and events, visit www.biodiversityhb.org

Photo: Ecologist, Kay Griffiths, The Conservation Company

9 August 2022

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