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Five Years of Restoration: A Community Celebrates
After half a decade of hard work, the Colville community has achieved something remarkable for the land and waterways we all call home.
When the project began five years ago, the vision was ambitious, to restore and protect the natural environment for generations to come. Today we celebrate that vision being much closer to reality, and the numbers speak for themselves.
Across the project area, 33.2 kilometres of fencing has been built on 14 properties to protect waterways and wetlands from stock, giving nature the breathing room it needs to recover. 63, 668 native plants have been put in the ground to stabilise land and provide habitat for our native species.
But behind every statistic is a story of people showing up, getting their hands dirty, and caring deeply about this place.
A Community Came Together
The Colville Harbour Care nursery hosted 16 community working bees that brought locals together to propagate and pot the plants that now line our waterways. The potting parties became a firm community favourite, part hard work, part social occasion and a reminder that restoration is as much about people as it is about plants.
Over 2,200 volunteer hours were generously donated to the project. That is an extraordinary gift of time and energy from this community, and it has made a real difference on the ground.
The project also hosted 8 community seminars drawing 251 attendees on topics as diverse as bird first aid, edible fungi, native grass identification and the remarkable evening when Andrew Crowe joined us to present his celebrated book Pathway of the Birds.
Measuring What Matters
To truly understand the health of our environment and whether the work was making a difference the project invested in monitoring. This included 9 bird counts, 10 Marine Metre Square surveys, 5 stream health assessments, and 10 tree survival and growth surveys. This data gives us a baseline to measure future recovery and ensures restoration efforts are targeted where they are needed most.
Pest control was carried out across 120 hectares, with 1,765 rats, 3,154 mice, and 987 possums removed from the landscape. The importance of this work cannot be overstated. Predators devastate native bird populations by raiding nests and killing chicks, and they destroy plant regeneration by eating seeds and seedlings. Sustained pest control creates the conditions for native species to not just survive, but to genuinely thrive. Every trap checked and every pest removed is a win for biodiversity.
Working Alongside Mana Whenua
The project was enriched immeasurably through its relationship with mana whenua and through working alongside Ko Moehau Ki Tai. Together, trees were planted, and a series of wānanga were hosted that deepened the community's connection to the environment and to each other.
A particular highlight was a very special evening facilitated by Jamie Watson, weaving together storytelling and taonga pūoro, and a Māori stone tool making workshop which was a day that many who attended will not forget. This partnership honoured the deep relationship between tangata whenua and the natural world, and grounded the restoration work in a richer understanding of this place and its history.
Local People, Local Benefit
The project created real economic opportunity locally, with over 65 local people employed (part time and seasonally) across its five years. This is a community investment that went beyond the environmental, it brought skills, knowledge, and income within our rohe.
A Heartfelt Thank You
None of this would have been possible without the landowners who initiated this project, opened their gates and embraced the kaupapa, the dedicated project team and contractors, and the Colville Junction Trustees who gave their time freely to oversee the governance of this work.
And of course, sincere thanks to our funders; the Ministry for the Environment, Waikato Regional Council, Trees That Count, and the World Wildlife Fund.
This project is a testament to what a small, committed community can achieve when it works together. The fences are built, the plants are in the ground, and the future looks a little greener because of it.
After half a decade of hard work, the Colville community has achieved something remarkable for the land and waterways we all call home.
When the project began five years ago, the vision was ambitious, to restore and protect the natural environment for generations to come. Today we celebrate that vision being much closer to reality, and the numbers speak for themselves.
Across the project area, 33.2 kilometres of fencing has been built on 14 properties to protect waterways and wetlands from stock, giving nature the breathing room it needs to recover. 63, 668 native plants have been put in the ground to stabilise land and provide habitat for our native species.
But behind every statistic is a story of people showing up, getting their hands dirty, and caring deeply about this place.
A Community Came Together
The Colville Harbour Care nursery hosted 16 community working bees that brought locals together to propagate and pot the plants that now line our waterways. The potting parties became a firm community favourite, part hard work, part social occasion and a reminder that restoration is as much about people as it is about plants.
Over 2,200 volunteer hours were generously donated to the project. That is an extraordinary gift of time and energy from this community, and it has made a real difference on the ground.
The project also hosted 8 community seminars drawing 251 attendees on topics as diverse as bird first aid, edible fungi, native grass identification and the remarkable evening when Andrew Crowe joined us to present his celebrated book Pathway of the Birds.
Measuring What Matters
To truly understand the health of our environment and whether the work was making a difference the project invested in monitoring. This included 9 bird counts, 10 Marine Metre Square surveys, 5 stream health assessments, and 10 tree survival and growth surveys. This data gives us a baseline to measure future recovery and ensures restoration efforts are targeted where they are needed most.
Pest control was carried out across 120 hectares, with 1,765 rats, 3,154 mice, and 987 possums removed from the landscape. The importance of this work cannot be overstated. Predators devastate native bird populations by raiding nests and killing chicks, and they destroy plant regeneration by eating seeds and seedlings. Sustained pest control creates the conditions for native species to not just survive, but to genuinely thrive. Every trap checked and every pest removed is a win for biodiversity.
Working Alongside Mana Whenua
The project was enriched immeasurably through its relationship with mana whenua and through working alongside Ko Moehau Ki Tai. Together, trees were planted, and a series of wānanga were hosted that deepened the community's connection to the environment and to each other.
A particular highlight was a very special evening facilitated by Jamie Watson, weaving together storytelling and taonga pūoro, and a Māori stone tool making workshop which was a day that many who attended will not forget. This partnership honoured the deep relationship between tangata whenua and the natural world, and grounded the restoration work in a richer understanding of this place and its history.
Local People, Local Benefit
The project created real economic opportunity locally, with over 65 local people employed (part time and seasonally) across its five years. This is a community investment that went beyond the environmental, it brought skills, knowledge, and income within our rohe.
A Heartfelt Thank You
None of this would have been possible without the landowners who initiated this project, opened their gates and embraced the kaupapa, the dedicated project team and contractors, and the Colville Junction Trustees who gave their time freely to oversee the governance of this work.
And of course, sincere thanks to our funders; the Ministry for the Environment, Waikato Regional Council, Trees That Count, and the World Wildlife Fund.
This project is a testament to what a small, committed community can achieve when it works together. The fences are built, the plants are in the ground, and the future looks a little greener because of it.
