A place from the heart

A wetland reserve is on the horizon for Scargill, requiring community effort which the locals are looking forward to.

The immediate goal of the Birdsong Project is to restore 700 metres of the 1.7 kilometre wetland stream in the Scargill Motunau Reserve, back to native vegetation. This includes a three kilometre loop track.

Last Thursday evening at Scargill Pavilion nearly 20 people attended the inaugural community meeting, where they shared ideas about what this natural area should look like, and how it can be achieved.

Local Scargill resident Dave Nicholls chaired the meeting, who’s been enjoying the Reserve for half a century thanks to tennis club involvement and family recreation.

“I think this could be a great inspiration for the whole area,” said Nicholls, as he showed the audience his hand-drawn sketch of the stream detailing proposed planted areas and rest spots, a result of a recent group walkaround where people identified what naturally felt like suitable places for seats and group plantings.

A philanthropic fund of $100,000 has been donated to the Project, meaning planting, fencing, some paid work and administrative duties can now be significantly fast tracked.

Nicholls is in the process of setting up a charitable trust, regular meetings with trustees and volunteers as a way to ensure work will happen gradually and surely.

“Initially the plan is to have just enough work to get everyone started, not to exhaust the volunteer efforts.”

Nicholls’ charitable trust application focuses on providing an indigenous ecosystem through the partial involvement of volunteers, inclusivity and encouragement through the community, education opportunities for the community and schoolchildren, and a multi-generational asset.

History and information boards were also noted as an idea.

“The Birdsong Project is about having a place where people can come together, and inspire local landowners to do the same at their place,” said Nicholls, noting that one immediate neighbour who has extensively planted out some land in toetoe, which looks great.

Within the 52 hectare Reserve there is a sports pavilion, golf course, tennis and squash courts, a bowling green, a cricket field, a walkway, six freedom camping sites, and a working farm which is used to graze breeding ewes.

So far, five places have been identified for seated areas and planted areas, focussed around rock outcrops, sheltered twists and turns on the track, and alongside the TiPapa Stream. Willows were removed from the Reserve in January, leaving plenty of areas to develop.

Feedback from those attending the meeting included looking forward to cleaner waterways again with the removal of the willows, seeing an abundance of birdlife, having a place their children can collect cockabillies, and taking time to ensure the right plants are planted in the right place.

Environment Canterbury has donated 6000 wetland plants, mainly three varieties of carex.

The gully is known for its cooler temperatures, so locking in a start date for planting will be a priority, the eventual goal to establish about 4000 plants each year through eco-sourcing, and nurseries including a newly established one at Hurunui College.

“The main thing is to make a start.”

The Project, still in the planning stage, aims in the next few years restore more than five hectares of land to native vegetation, including some areas of native forest.

Local ecologist Sue McGaw said within the wetland area there are so many interesting pockets, with so much potential.

As lead ecologist, her advice for successful planting was “looking at nature, and copying it,’ which means looking around local roads and properties and seeing what is growing well.

At the beginning of a project McGaw admitted things can seem overwhelming, her advice was to just choose a 10 metre by 10 metre patch, prepare that ground, and start planting and developing.

“And it’s very important that after your work session, you take a moment to enjoy the area – maybe sitting by your favourite rock, down by the creek, or going for walk around the track.”

As far as volunteering goes, McGaw said there is a job for everybody.

“It’s important to enjoy it together, from picking up sticks to digging holes, it’s a matter of just turning up to the working bees.”

Hurunui District Council’s (HDC) Water and Land Coordinator Rima Herber is working closely with the community, and believes without the great work of the Reserve Committee over the years, none of this would be possible.

“It’s great when the decisions come from your heart, not from a piece of paper.”

She thoroughly enjoyed the track walk recently, taking her time to see what fitted naturally where.

“It’s fantastic to see the community so delighted and engaged in this venture, and I’m really looking forward to seeing how it develops throughout the year.”

Photo: Members of Birdsong trust and neighbours plan track work.

• Wetland restoration supports the government’s commitments and objectives under the Aotearoa New Zealand Biodiversity Strategy, the Emissions Reduction Plan and the National Adaptation Plan, as well as HDC’s obligations under the International RAMSAR Convention on Wetlands.