Source: Environment Canterbury Regional Council
Freshwater ecologist Dr Jane Kitson and biosecurity dog handler John Taylor detailed the history of the large tidal estuary while Wink the dog led people around the site.
It has seen significant negative impacts due to the largely agricultural catchment and surrounding urban development.
Spartina was also once planted here to help in land reclamation efforts but Wink and John have seen to it that this unwelcome invasive pest is eradicated from the site.
Despite its challenges, the expanse of mudflats, seagrasses and marshes continues to provide a home for various precious species.
Learn more about the pest plant Spartina.
Wink at the estuary waiting for his sheep to follow. Photo credit: Brittany Pickett, Environment Southland
Kew Bush – remnant podocarp forest
Also on the trip agenda was Kew Bush – a little-known 3.3ha stand of remnant podocarp forest within Invercargill hospital grounds.
A small group of dedicated volunteers have been devoted carers of this podocarp pocket, undertaking decades of plantings, pest control work, track building and maintenance – naturally with minimal resources.
They share their plight and hope to inspire more like minds to take the reigns and maintain the gains.
Upon returning to base there was also a spartina detection demonstration, and fortunately, Wink did not disappoint.
Success is not maintained in isolation but with support and buy-in from landowners, communities and other groups. Likewise, projects require sufficient inputs early on and the cost of reduced or insufficient resources can quickly stall or reverse any gains. Which is the challenge.
Everyone recognised there are no easy solutions to these challenges but identifying some areas of opportunity and capitalising on these at the right time are all good steps in the right direction – collaboration and partnerships, smarter tools and technology, clear goals, along with knowledgeable and passionate people leading the mahi.
While DOC detection dogs, the Kew Bush volunteers, and many other speakers shared stories of success in their endeavours, what resonated throughout was that not one of these successes, like our own, is immune from the challenge that is ‘maintaining the gains’.