An ambitious 100-year ecological project is about to begin in southern Southland, replanting almost 50 hectares of farmland back into native flora, as part of the Whakamana te Waituna Charitable Trust's Freshwater Improvement Project.

The Trust, which includes representatives from Awarua Rūnanga, Ngāi Tahu, Southland District Council, Environment Southland, Department of Conservation, Fonterra and the community, have a long-term goal of transforming around 10% (2000 hectares) of the Waituna catchment into activities that better support the area's water quality and biodiversity while remaining profitable and self-stainable.

The Waituna farmland block will potentially look like this after 100 years. Graphic: Supplied

Since its establishment in 2018 the Trust has secured $13.3m in funds to begin this process, which includes land purchases.

The current project to plant 8500 natives is on 6.5ha of a 48.3-hectare farm block - one of three purchased in 2020 - and is adjacent to the Awarua Wetland Ramsar site.

The land, once part of the wider Awarua Waituna wetland area, was strategically purchased to increase the native land buffer around Waituna Lagoon and to repurpose farmland that could become inundated if the lagoon was opened to the sea at a higher level.

Trust co-chairs Riki Nicholas and Jon Pemberton said the reforestation formed part of the Trust’s vision, including strong partnerships supporting mana whenua aspirations.

“Key to this are focus areas around restoring wetlands and lowland forest, redesigning drains and waterways to reduce sediment and weed growth, reducing nutrient losses through on-farm mitigations, and realising the benefits of biodiversity and carbon for sustainable financing,” Nicholas said.

The Trust plans to use a series of different planting techniques including wider plant spacings, using nursery species such as manuka, and trialling the use of new locally designed ( Garto Guards) plant guards.

An artist's impression of the Waituna farmland block after 100 years. Graphic: Supplied

“The aim is to enable large scale reforestation of land at a much lower cost than what has traditionally been the case,” Pemberton said.

Ongoing plant maintenance and the establishment of public walking tracks are other aspects of the plan, the Co-chairs said.

The project will enact a freshwater covenant placed over the block in 2019 by the Ministry for the Environment and also become an important pilot for Environment Southland’s wider ‘Learning from the Land’ project.