Alford Forest’s Epic Battle: Holly vs Humans

Sitting around 40km northwest of Ashburton is Alford Forest, a dense, swampy bushland that has allowed native trees like tōtara and kahikatea to thrive. It is one of the only places in the Ashburton district where you can see the gradation of wetland kahikatea pōkākā forest to dryland beech forest.

It has also been infested with holly for decades. Holly is a shade-tolerant weed which can grow back after being cut. Birds, attracted to the bright berries, had facilitated the spread of holly throughout the forest.

In 2014 we started funding weed control work in the area, and to date, we have contributed $83,000 through various funds and worked to remove holly from 21 hectares in the forest. 

The resilient rival

Land Management and Biodiversity Officer Jess Cochrane joined the project in mid-2023 and quickly learned that the resilience of holly has been the biggest hurdle to overcome. The team discovered it will take up to 4 months for holly to die off once sprayed, and young plants can seed as well - which means a constant seed source.

The best control methods the team have used so far are:

1. Triclopyr and bio-diesel basal bark herbicide application on all target plants greater than 12 cm.
2. Large trees are chainsaw bore cut and filled with glyphosate and metsulfuron herbicide.

The team, which has included various contractors over the years and our staff, have put in the hard mahi/work to get Alford Forest looking the way it does today.

"The most rewarding part of this project is getting to walk through a remnant kahikatea swamp forest into a beech forest - all within a 30m distance - and be able to see all of the new little seedlings coming away and know that we are working to protect this incredible place. There are very few places left like this in the Ashburton District," says Jess.