Flat Top Hill Conservation area is the location of our flagship revegetation project.

At the end of 2022 we are up to year three of a multi-year project where we aim to plant 500 trees and shrubs annually. The goal is to restore the grey shrublands to an area that has been farmed for around 100 years. In future it will become (we hope) ground zero for the natural expansion of our flora by creating a vibrant and healthy plant community which becomes a great seed source for the surrounding, less protected parts of the conservation area. In the short term, it boosts the food and shelter available to support a greater number or range of lizards, birds and insects some of which rely solely on these species for their survival.

These are the 45 species we have trialled, 14 of which are on the NZTCS list as ‘Threatened‘ or ‘At Risk’. To date approximately (Jun 2022) 34% are these uncommon plants that could do with having their populations boosted.

Dryland planting relies on natural rainfall for plant survival. In most locations across the country this would be fine but here in Central we need to accept there will be failures. To mitigate this, we have been working hard to assess the right species for the site. There is a lack of information in this area so by trialling a large number of different plant species and regular monitoring of all our plantings we are gaining some good insights.

Finally, we would like to thank all the people and groups that have joined us in our revegetation efforts. There are hundreds of hours that have gone into this project. From the eco sourcing of the seed to the volunteers propagating them every week at our nursery, the data collection, administration, the maintenance and of course, the glory job of planting.

Trees that Count and Contact Energy have funded the plants, DoC assists with the initial ground prep and have funded the shelters and weed mat in the past, Dunstan High school have helped with monitoring, Alexandra Rotarians have joined the trust along with numerous members of the public for planting and now we can add corporates like WSP to the list as well.