Balmoral Lookout Project
The Hawarden-Waikari Lions and Hurunui College began a revegetation project in the Balmoral Fire Lookout Reserve in 2023, thanks to a grant from the Mainpower Hurunui Fund. The group aims to grow and plant natives for the reserve every year. An initial 350 plants were planted in 2023 and 100 in 2024. However more plants in stock were held over due to soil dryness, for planting the following winter.
We used the 2023 planting session to study whether our plants required combiguards by planting a third with guards and mats, a third with mats only, and a third with no protection. All of the planting spots received a herbicide spray in advance. The results were inconclusive: we lost about 50% of the plants, many of which were killed by the drought. It seemed that those plants without guards were more susceptible to possum browsing, and were hit hardest by a mob of cattle that broke into the reserve. We did notice quite a few plants doing well without guards or weed mats, but decided to use combiguards in future, when the budget allows. The Lions group have committed to watering new plantings since the drought and students help by mulching the plants with wool crutchings and dags.
One of our aims is for the Hurunui College students to grow plants for the Balmoral project in our nursery. Whilst the students have been successfully propagating plants for use at the school, the difficulty of obtaining ecosourced seed for the project is holding it back. If anyone can source some seed for our group we would be very grateful.
Hurunui College’s other significant ecological conservation activity is the Nina Valley Restoration Group, which has been going since 2008.
Contact: Tim Kelly – [email protected]
Dave Hislop, HW Lions – [email protected]