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
