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Kereru
Rehabilitation Moore's Bush
Restoration
Quarantine
Island Restoration Wilding Tree
Control
Wilding Tree Control
The Wilding Tree Team was established in 1997 to combat the threat posed by wilding trees to natural ecosystems in Otago, where they can dominate and exclude native flora and fauna.
The objective of the
Wilding Tree Team was expressed as:
"To facilitate the containment and where possible
eradication of wilding trees in areas of conservation
value in Otago, through both practical and political
efforts.”
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| Graeme Harraway instructing the Wilding Tree Team on chainsaw use and safety. |
Funding was obtained
from various sources, including the New Zealand Lotteries
Grants Board, Dr Marjorie Barclay Trust and from the
Dunedin branch of Forest and Bird itself. This was used
to purchase chainsaws, hand tools, safety equipment and
training.
In seven years of operation, the Wilding Tree Team has
removed more than 85,000 wilding trees. These have been a
mixture of tree species with the dominant species being Pinus
contorta, Pinus nigra and Douglas-fir.
The team has worked on private, leasehold and
conservation land from the coast of Otago, to Central
Otago and North Otago, and high country sites in the
Wakatipu basin.
Apart from the part-time paid coordinator, dozens of
volunteers (148 in total, with many turning out numerous
times) have carried out the wilding tree work, traveling
25,000km in the process
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| David McFarlane at Awakino ski field. |
Wilding tree advocacy
work has also been undertaken by Forest and Bird; in
1997/1998, Professor Alan Mark, Vice-Chairperson of the
Dunedin Branch of Forest and Bird, pushed for a
“Wilding Tree Accord” among stakeholders, that
included forestry companies, local authorities and
farmers.
The coordinator of the Wilding Tree Team and other
members of Dunedin Forest and Bird were involved in the
Otago Regional Council submission process on the Draft
Pest Management Strategy for Otago. Subsequently, P.
contorta was included as a total control pest plant
within the Pest Management Strategy for Otago.
The Wilding Tree Team normally works at weekends, with
proposed work days notified by email 1-2 weeks in
advance. Occasional weekend trips are run to more distant
wilding tree sites. A good level of physical fitness is
normally required, although some sites are suitable for
people of all physical abilities.
Many of the wilding tree sites are in interesting areas
off the “beaten track”, and as well as the
feeling of doing important weed control work, there is
always the Wilding Tree Team tradition of an ice cream on
the way home!
For more information on this project and volunteering
opportunities, contact Rhys Millar Phone 03 454 5111, email rhysmillar@inspire.net.nz
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