Restoration area
The Pine Spur
The most covered ground in the project, and most of that cover is pine.
Surveyed, measured and described. Nothing done on the ground yet.
How far we have got
- Already carries cover
- 79%
- 3.61 ha of 4.54. 1.95 ha of it is recorded as pine, not native.
- Planted by the project
- 0%
- Nothing yet. 0.93 ha of bare ground here.
These two figures are never added together, and the map draws them separately, block by block. Cover that was already here is not restoration — in one block of this project it is pine.
The blocks behind this place
Survey Waitaki, August 2025Block 22.24 ha · steep · 87% already vegetated
Large lower half of 1st steep spur between 2 gullies
Dominated by exotics (pine) of 5m plus height, some small patches of Ngaio
Block 131.75 ha · flat -sloped · 81% already vegetated
Top half of 1st large spur above block 2 seperated by walking track
Block 140.55 ha · sloped - steep · 43% already vegetated
Small gully up to crest of small ridge above walking track on the south side of block 13
Where we are now
The whole of the first spur between the two gullies, from the steep lower face up over the crest, plus the small gully on its southern side. The lower block is dominated by exotic pine over 5 m with small patches of ngaio beneath it; the cover on the blocks above is mapped by extent rather than by species.
What it becomes
The same spur under native canopy — established underneath the pines before the pines come out, because felling the shelter first would expose everything behind it.
Why this matters
This is where “covered” and “restored” part company. On paper this is the greenest ground on the Cape; on the ground much of it is a plantation. The Council intends to remove the pines as native planting allows, and earns carbon credits from them in the meantime.
What needs to happen
1 of 10- Surveyed, measured and described
- Strimmed and spot-sprayed, ready to plant
- Planting begun
- Protectors, stakes and water on
- Planting completed across the bare ground
- Released and weeded, bi-monthly
- Grass held back two years, or until the trees reach 2 m
- Away on its own
- Written Council sign-off for the pine proposal
- Confirm what the cover on the upper blocks actually is
Why the pines are still standing
The most common question a project like this gets, and the answer is not sentiment. Take the shelter away in one go and the planting behind it dies. The sequence matters more than the outcome: plant underneath, then remove in stages.