A Department of Conservation ranger’s passion and innovation is driving work to restore a rare fragment of original kānuka forest on the Canterbury Plains.

The 13-hectare forest near Eyrewell in North Canterbury is in the Motu Kānuka Scientific Reserve, which sits within a vast sea of privately owned farmland.

DOC Biodiversity Ranger Christina Stet says when she’s sitting in the middle of the kānuka forest island or motu on the flat expanse of the plains, she feels like she’s travelled back hundreds of years.

“Everything around it has been cleared, and yet amazingly this motu has remained. It’s an incredibly special ecosystem and provides a home for many threatened and at-risk species, shrubs, lichen, moss, insects, lizards, and birds. I feel very passionate about protecting it as many of these species are extremely rare on the Canterbury Plains.”

DOC purchased the forest through the Nature Heritage Fund in 2019. There were many threats to contend with including introduced grasses, gorse, broom, and pests, which impact the native plants and animals. It was pure luck the native kānuka forest had survived for so long.

Christina and DOC’s biodiversity team had a challenge. How could they protect the existing forest and increase its size by encouraging more kānuka to grow?

“We heard ECAN (Environment Canterbury) was trialling a new technique of reforestation in kānuka reserves. The idea was to try and create a giant ‘seed tray’. With help from their biodiversity fund, we cleared the invasive grasses near the adult trees and hoped the kānuka seeds would be blown across and land on the cleared soil and grow. The famous Canterbury nor’ wester blew and suddenly, these little seedlings started sprouting. I was so stoked to see how they’ve thrived.”

Christina says they hope to create a ‘seed tray’ on another side of Motu Kānuka.

“The bigger the buffer we can make, the more resilient the forest will be. What I love is being able to make a difference. We’ve proven in many parts of the country that when we remove or manage the threats to nature or restore habitats, they come back and thrive. Every individual action counts,” she says.

“We want to make sure this little ancient island stays this way for generations to come as once it disappears, it’s gone for good. This is part of our heritage and a wonderful snapshot of the past. This motu is a reminder of the resilience of nature, but more often now, it needs a helping hand.”

The Motu Kānuka Scientific Reserve requires a permit to visit.

To watch a video of Christina Stet in the Motu Kānuka please click on this link. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9aLqOeLZrbY

A second video of Christina explaining how her giant ‘seed tray’ works is also available via DOC’s social media channels.

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