We love our remote and spectacular home of Mohua Golden Bay and one of the ways we show this aroha is by regenerating the local environment and restoring biodiversity to the land that has served our community so well over these years.
Every year we shut shop for a day and head out as a team to plant trees in the region.
We have a habit of focusing on how much more we’d like to achieve and often forget to take a moment to celebrate how far we’ve come!
Here, we’d love to share some of the beautiful places we’ve been lucky enough to help restore over the years.
We’ve planted more than 15,000 native trees across Golden Bay over the past 12 years, most recently at the Wharariki Ecosanctuary at Cape Farewell, managed by the HealthPost Nature Trust, and the nearby Wharariki Wetland. Many more trees have been planted by community volunteers contributing to our restoration projects.
Let’s explore some of the places we’ve planted and the species that have benefitted from all this growth.
With much support from iwi, DOC, and other conservation experts , we’re actively reintroducing threatened seabirds like pakahā at the Wharariki Ecosanctuary. We’re also protecting the remnant colonies of Tītī, Kororā, Green Gecko and other at-risk species that exist along this dramatic stretch of coast, largely on offshore rock stacks that have offered some protection from predators.
Our annual tree planting is a day when our whole Mohua-based team has the chance to get hands-on in regenerating nature. It’s long been a highlight of our HealthPost calendar, and we feel the boost to team spirit every time we get out and plant together. It’s a chance to get to know each other better, and this year we were thrilled to be planting alongside more whānau than ever before. Our efforts were amplified by the fantastic site prep and leadership from the HealthPost Nature Trust community volunteer crew, too. We are only too happy to take our lead from these inspiring folk who regularly give up their weekends for conservation. Ka pai!
In respect for the uniqueness of these local ecosystems, all the trees we plant are eco-sourced from local seed and grown on nearby until they’re ready to go in the ground. After a great growing season and a lot of TLC from Nigel, our nursery man, the trees this year, including kohekohe, kahikatea and kawakawa, were especially healthy and robust. Which they’ll need to be to withstand the 100km winds that have famously sculpted the Wharariki landscape! We are also focused right now on regenerating the Wharariki wetland with the intention of reintroducing the endangered pāteke (brown teal) in 2023.
Over the years we have planted at Milnthorpe, Paynes Ford, Motupipu and Mangarakau swamp, as well as at our own government-registered indigenous forest carbon farm here in Golden Bay.
We’re Zero Carbon certified with Ekos, and we offset unavoidable emissions from our business operations exclusively by supporting premium native forest projects in our region. This requires a much greater financial investment than other offsetting approaches, but we have the satisfaction of seeing the boost to local biodiversity that results. Our team can also connect in a tangible way to the difference we are, collectively, making.
When we return to the areas we’ve planted over the years, it’s so rewarding to see the trees and their natural inhabitants thriving. These are accessible recreation areas cherished by our community too, so we know we are delivering on our vision to have a lasting, positive impact on the wellbeing of people and the planet.
Thanks to the support of our customers, our team and the wider community, we’re making strides on our journey to restore biodiversity in our own special corner of the world.
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