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Category: News
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Profiling our working group: Angela Wentworth
The Wairau Nature Network thrives thanks to a dedicated team of passionate community members – and it’s time to celebrate the people behind the mahi. First up in our profile series is Angela Wentworth, whose commitment to nature and community is inspiring.
What inspired you to become involved in the Wairau Nature Network?
As an environmental educator for Marlborough District Council, I work with tamariki and rangatahi who really care about the environment. They notice things – fewer birds in their playgrounds, rubbish in their awa – and they want to do something about it.
I joined the Wairau Nature Network because it’s a great way to connect schools with the amazing people and groups already taking action and be part of a community effort to restore the health and biodiversity of the Wairau.
What’s the biggest environmental challenge you think the Wairau catchment faces right now?
One of the biggest challenges isn’t unique to Wairau, it’s the loss of connection with nature. When we give young people the chance to learn in nature and discover how incredible it is, that connection grows and they become its biggest advocates.
Can you share a project or achievement from the network that you are most proud of?
I’m proud of all that the Network has achieved so far. It’s no small feat to have come from one idea and a meeting to gauge interest to now having a committee, hosting restoration workshops, and building an online hub full of tools, stories, and videos to help others start or strengthen their own restoration journeys. It’s been a huge, combined effort.
How do you see the role of community partnerships in restoring and protecting local ecosystems?
They’re so important. No single organisation can restore an entire catchment, it takes everyone. Community partnerships bring together local knowledge, energy, and a shared purpose to protect the places we all love.
What is your personal connection to the Wairau area – what makes it so special to you?
I love the variety of natural spaces here, the braided Wairau River, Whites Bay, Grovetown Lagoon, and the Wairau River Estuary. Each place has its own uniqueness. I especially love introducing children to these spaces and seeing their wonder and curiosity as they explore and learn outdoors.
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Resilient Restoration: Water Crystals
Use of water crystals to increase plant survival in dry areas.
Watch 4min video.
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Tips for funding applications
Applying for funding can be time-consuming; however many funders use similar language in their criteria. These tips will help you pick out the key words and understand what funders are really asking for.
Read more here
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Spring 2025 newsletter
As the season shifts, there’s a sense of energy returning to the landscape – new growth, longer days, and plenty of wind to keep things interesting!
The recent fire on the Wither Hills is a timely reminder of how important it is to plan for fire in restoration work. Fittingly, we have just hosted a webinar on being more fire-smart in our projects
Read more here
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Winter 2025 newsletter
Once again our district has been impacted by a severe flood event. We hope that you have not experienced too much damage to homes and properties.
We recommend reaching out to the Rural Support Trust if you need assistance or are feeling overwhelmed.
At times like this, our planting projects are the last things on our minds!
However, every extreme weather event – that so-called 100-year flood yet again, reinforces that we must act now. Thank you for being part of that.
Read more here
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Fire-Smart Restoration webinar
Planting Fire-Smart Landscapes
Wildfire risk is an increasing concern in New Zealand, and with hotter, drier summers becoming more frequent, understanding how to reduce vulnerability is more important than ever. A recent webinar brought together experts Dr. Tim Curran from Lincoln University and Steve Trigg, FENZ, to share the latest insights into fire-smart restoration and practical ways communities can prepare.
Research into Plant Flammability
One of the key themes explored was plant flammability. Research has shown that the types of plants we choose for landscaping and restoration can make a real difference in slowing the spread of fire. Dr. Curran discussed ongoing testing to identify species with lower flammability, which can be incorporated into fire-smart planting plans.
Strategies for Safer Communities
The webinar also introduced a range of fire mitigation strategies, including:
Low-flammability plantings to reduce the speed and intensity of fire.
Green fire breaks that act as buffers between natural areas and homes.
Defensible space – creating safer zones around houses to protect people and property.
Watch the full 50min webinar.
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Profiling our working group: Julie Buunk
Next up in our team spotlight is Julie Buunk. Julie was the first to join our working group!
What inspired you to become involved in the Wairau Nature Network?As a keen tramper and ex-DOC field worker I’m drawn to natural places. I live on our family farm in the Fairhall area. My father started planting small areas of the farm in native trees and shrubs around the year 2000, these plants are now of a decent size. This got me thinking if one person working alone can produce such inspiring results then what would happen if people worked together across the district?
What’s the biggest environmental challenge you think the Wairau catchment faces right now?
The lack of indigenous biodiversity, the Wairau Catchment (in particular the lowland areas) is a highly modified productive landscape, in most cases spare spaces such as riparian strips are largely dominated by woody weeds and other invasive exotic species.
Can you share a project or achievement from the Network that you are most proud of?
I am very excited about the progress of the Wairau Nature Networks mapping program. When completed, this will allow members of the public to easily see where there is existing native vegetation, and how best to connect these areas with new plantings.
How do you see the role of community partnerships in restoring and protecting local ecosystems?
Vegetation restoration is hard work; the planting is really the easy part. By sharing the workload, not only can we achieve more, but it also creates a personal connection to the project. By neighbouring properties collaborating, communities sharing knowledge and even resources, we can effectively work together and start to connect native areas to form corridors or stepping stones across the landscape.
What makes the Wairau area so special to you?
I’m from two local farming families, born and raised on the plains. Within the generation before mine, any remaining native species were removed from the family farm. How amazing it would be to have these remnants still and protect them!
The peaks, ranges and side tributaries of the catchment are my tramping playground. An annual walk-in camping trip to a clearing beside a pristine river in the Richmond Ranges has become a tradition for my children to share with family friends.
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Microforest & Biochar workshop, May 2025
38 people attended a Microforest and Biochar forest, with guest speaker Asita Langi from Nelson Whakatu Microforest Initiative.
What is a microforest? Often no bigger than a tennis court, microforests are small, multi-layered planted forests that serve as carbon stores and biodiversity stepping stones. Because they are small they are ideal for schools, businesses, industrial areas and unproductive rural land.
While small, microforests are planted with more species than traditional restoration sites, and incorporate the layers of the forest. This is called the Miyawaki Technique, after the Japanese ecologist who designed the methodology.
“For a natural plant community (society), the best situation is where the plants compete with each other and have to put up with each other. Our method of planting trees followed the law of the forest, and seedlings whose roots had filled the pot were planted, different species mixed together. In a natural forest, between 30 and 50 seedlings sprout per square meter. There are some places in Borneo where there are between 500 and nearly 1,000 seedlings per square meter [sic].“ – Akira Miyawa
Asita also discussed how biochar was incorporated into the Nelson Whakatu Microforest and significantly improved soil water and nutrient retention. The photos of the four-year-old growth impressed even the most hardened critic in the room!