News

Te Rere Guided Tour

Ko te manu e kai ana i te miro, nōnā te ngahere. Ko te manu e kai ana i te mātauranga, nōnā te ao. The bird that consumes the miro berry, theirs is the forest. The bird that consumes knowledge, theirs is the world.

Waikawa Community Nursery’s inspiration comes in large part from Chris and Brian Rance’s Southland Community Nursery where they grow local Southland plants and offer a range of workshops and educational opportunities to community groups undertaking restoration projects. Chris and Brian have a long association with a local project, Te Rere Yellow-Eyed Penguin Reserve, owned by Forest and Bird. Brian’s been involved with Te Rere since the 1980s and has deep and practical knowledge of restoration ecology in Southland, inclduing how to recloak harsh coastal sites like Te Rere.

It was a treat to head out on a guided tour which Brian put on for the Waikawa Catchment Group on Friday 27 March - we were able to hear about the challenges of the site, the difficulties of trying to protect hoiho | yellow-eyed penguins (Threatened - Nationally Endangered) and also some of the successes and surprises over the years. Cheryl Pullar (DOC penguin ranger) also gave an informative talk about her work with hoiho at this site over the last 25 years.

Posted: 29 March 2026

Nursery milestone celebrated!

Poipoia te kākano kia puāwai - nurture the seed and it will blossom

The Waikawa Community Nursery celebrated a significant milestone on Sunday 15 March with its inaugural planting day at ‘Gowai Corner’ on the Waikawa River as it flows past Bush Cone Farm. Over 200 plants grown using local seed and volunteer power went in the ground, along with a few slower growing plants donated by Jesse Bythell which were started in 2021 using locally sourced seed. Volunteers came and went throughout the day pitching in to get the planting done amidst a mix of sun and light showers.

The planting site was chosen because it consists of two habitat types which occur on the floodplain of the Waikawa River (remnant kowhai ribbonwood levee forest and backswamp) as well as supporting kākahi | freshwater mussel. The site was also suitable because it was already fenced, has convenient access and protects a strategic farm access track from erosion. Plants chosen for this site had to either be tolerant of ‘high-dry’ (levee) or ‘low-soggy’ (backswamp) conditions and were planted accordingly.

‘High-dry’ species used:

• South Island kōwhai (Sophora microphylla)
• Mānatu | lowland ribbonwood (Plagianthus regius)
• Mataī (Prumnopitys taxifolia)
• Tarata | lemonwood (Pittosporum eugenioides)
• Red māpou (Myrsine australis)
• Weeping māpou (M. divaricata)
• Mānuka (Leptospermum scoparium)
• Thin-barked tōtara (Podocarpus laetus)
• Putaputawētā | marbleleaf (Carpodetus serratus)
• Kaikōmako (Pennantia corymbosa)
• Makomako | wineberry (Aristotelia serrata)
• South Island toetoe (Austroderia richardii)

‘Low-soggy’ spcies used:

• Kahikatea (Dacrycarpus dacrydioides)
• Mikimiki (Coprosma propinqua)
• Tī kōuka | cabbage tree (Cordyline australis)
• Harakeke | flax (Phormium tenax)
• Swamp tree daisy (Shawia laxiflora)
• Tiwggy māhoe (Melicytus flexuosus) - classified as Threatened - Nationally Endangered due to habitat loss and fragmentation of populations
• Native broom (Carmichaelia petriei)
• Pukio (Carex virgata)
• Purei (Carex secta)

The approach taken here is to re-instate a representative mix of species found in this part of Southland on a floodplain. However, if working on a budget with limited resources for post-planting care, a stripped back approach could work using very fast growing species planted at lower density and over time nature will fill in the gaps (e.g. Carex and harakeke in the wet areas and lowland ribbonwood in the dry area).

Posted: 23 March 2026

‘Summer’ river walk enjoyed despite the rain

On the 25th of January Jesse Bythell led a river walk along a portion of the Waikawa River near Mangai Piri | Niagara Falls. Despite the constant rain, 6 other keen folks turned up from as far away as Niagara and and Mossburn (a visitor at the Motorhome Association campsite). Starting on the bridge we spent some time talking about the long connection of people to this place, then explored the DOC reserve below the bridge (special because it is the only remaining piece of riparian kowhai ribbonwood forest left on the Waikawa which has a closed canopy and includes most of the representative species for this rare local ecosystem type). Winding down Manse Road attendees chatted about the Catchment Group’s Erosion Mitigation Project and recent efforts to intercept sediment and slow the flow - something which felt very apt during the downpour! Stopping at the Dog Dosing Strip planting showed how well the plantings there are doing. While some plants were under water because the river was 3 m above its normal height, the right plants in the right place should tolerate these dynamic conditions.

The Waikawa Community Nursery hopes to offer at least one guided field trip each summer somewhere in the Waikawa Catchment. Stay tuned to find out about future events or contact us to be put on our mailing list: [Enable JavaScript to view protected content]

Posted: 28 January 2026

Spring has sprung!

Misty, Keeti-Moana, Shannon, Mark and Sara potting on purei | Carex secta seedlingsThanks to the volunteers who showed up on Saturday 4 October to help get the nursery going - it was a busy day! New signage is now up, the shed is ship-shape, the wheelbarrow has been assembled, some drainage has been added to avoid muddying the lawn and hundreds of seeds sown and seedlings potted on. It wasn’t the finest of days but there were happy smiles all round.

New sign out front paired with the Waikawa Museum sign - pictured from left to right: Martin, Sara, Kelsi, Jesse, Joni dog, Graydon, Misty, Mark, Keeti-Moana and Shannon.

Posted: 17 October 2025

Hard work on a cold day

Thank you to the stalwarts who turned up on a cold winter’s day to help repair our grow tunnel after the extreme wind last weekend and also get started on assembling the shed. This is the last official working bee for the season, though likely Kelsi and Jesse will tinker away down there getting things lined up and snug for winter.

Springtime is when we will be sowing seeds and getting things properly going in the nursery. If you would like to join in and learn to propagate native plants for your own projects or volunteer your labour to grow plants for the catchment please get in touch.

Posted: 9 June 2025