Volunteers tackling wildings in Waimakariri basin

Volunteers in the Waimakariri Basin take the threat of wilding pines seriously. They are going the extra mile; even abseiling down cliffs to chop down pesky lone pines.

The team at Waimakariri Ecological and Landscape Restoration Alliance (WELRA) have been involved in wilding pine control in the Craigieburn area, the Castle Hill Basin, the Torlesse Range, and surrounds since 2008.

The alliance was established between farmers, residents, the Department of Conservation, Canterbury Regional Council (Environment Canterbury), and the Canterbury Environmental Trust after they became concerned about wilding pines spreading in the area.

Deputy Chair of WELRA, Ray Goldring, said the community realised they had to act quickly.

“We noticed Pinus contorta wildings starting to spread onto the Flock Hill flats, so I wrote to Environment Canterbury, we set up an initial meeting, and over 30 people turned up.”

Community-led wilding control

WELRA was formed out of that meeting and managed to secure $1.2m of funding to engage contractors to control pest trees until 2016 when the government-funded National Wilding Conifer Control Programme began.

Since then, they’ve worked alongside our wilding pines team helping to map out known infestations for operational plans and organise teams of volunteers to go into more accessible areas.

According to our Wilding Pines Lead Rich Langley, having a community committed to the problem is continuing to provide benefits.

“They [WELRA] have an important history in the programme as one of the first groups to recognise the threat of wilding pines and take action.

“Their continued contribution is vital for helping the region to secure funding from central government, showing willingness and determination from the community to help address this issue.”

Wilding pine volunteers making a big impact

Since 2016, WELRA has coordinated more than 1,400 volunteers who have spent 8,400 hours controlling wildings. Volunteers have included school and tertiary students, alpine and tramping clubs, residents and businesses. And while it’s hard to put an exact dollar value on their work, Ray estimates they’ve saved the national programme at least $350,000 in contractor costs, meaning the limited national programme budget can be spent getting contractors into more critical areas.

Donald ‘DJ’ Matheson had an abseiling business for 26 years and, amongst other things, they cleared wilding pines in the North Island. Now retired, and with a property in Castle Hill Village, he’s continuing to ‘drop and chop’.

He works with Ray to identify lone pines that are spreading seeds in areas other volunteers can’t easily access. WELRA supply the tools and DJ and his team tramp out and abseil down to remove them.

As Ray says, if you leave even one pest tree behind, particularly Pinus contorta, you'll be back to square one in no time.

Become a wilding pine volunteer

The volunteer programme is continuing its work, and despite the recent wildfires, they still have a few areas of recent germination to control which would suit volunteer input.

Volunteer groups meet at Castle Hill Village for a briefing, WELRA provide the tools, and, in some cases, can help with travel costs.

Ray encourages any groups or organisations that want to get involved in volunteer wilding pine control to get in touch.

• Email: goldringray@gmail.com
• Phone: 027 467 9387

If you’re located further south, Wilding Free Mackenzie organise volunteer days in the Mackenzie Basin.