Benefits of Weed Management : Native Ecosystems Bouncing Back, Thanks to Waikato Regional Council
- thecolvilleproject
- 4 days ago
- 4 min read
A year ago we reported on Year 1 of our targeted 2024-2026 weed management programme. This programme supported our ecological restoration journey at 89 Wharf Road, and was backed by Waikato Regional Council’s Environmental Initiatives Fund (EIF). Today, as we complete the second and final year of this stage, we are thrilled to share some of the most recent outcomes.
The Northern Coromandel Peninsula is home to rare native flora and fauna, including threatened taonga such as the kākā and Coromandel brown kiwi. The Colville Project property itself houses a distinct area of regenerating podocarp-broadleaf forest with high biodiversity values. Protecting this biodiversity takes patience and persistence, and Year Two of this programme was all about following through on previous work undertaken.
In Year One we cleared the way. In Year Two we held the line and watched the native bush respond.
What we did in Year Two
Between November 2025 and February 2026, our specialist contractor Richard Webster of Remnant Restoration carried out 158 hours of careful environmental weed control across the site, guided by the same ecological assessment and recommendations that have shaped this project from day one. This work delivered the priority weed control goals set out for our highest-value areas: the regenerating podocarp-broadleaf forest, the stream, and its wetlands and tributaries.
Much of Year Two was follow-up work, and that is exactly how restoration is meant to go. When you knock back a mature infestation in one season, the seedbank keeps trying to bounce back. So this year the focus was on stopping those weeds from re-establishing while native plants moved into the space.
The team worked methodically through the priority species:
Moth plant. Seedbank control along the stream margins and tributaries, including new outlier patches found under the macrocarpa along the northern boundary. This species will need follow-up for a few more years, and we are on top of it.
Kahili ginger. Follow-up of the riparian infestations treated in Year One, from the Tukituki Farm boundary down to 55 Wharf Road.
Banana passionfruit and English ivy. Ongoing control of the heavy infestations along the northern boundary, in the cutover pine, and in the Northern Tributary.
Taiwan cherry, privets, cotoneaster and boxthorn. A check of the trees treated last year, plus two more mature Taiwan cherry and around six juveniles dealt with.
Down in the wetland and riparian areas, the team followed up on arum lily, montbretia, pampas grass, woolly nightshade and Mexican devil. Throughout, Richard and the team followed kauri dieback hygiene protocols to keep our kauri safe.
The bush is responding
This is the part we love. The photographs from Year Two tell a hopeful story.
Where invasive tuber ladder fern was removed last year, native rasp fern (pukupuku) is now growing back. Where we cut and treated kahili ginger along the stream, native seedlings and ferns are filling the gaps. The native canopy that was once smothered by moth plant is open and healthy. These are real signs that the ecosystem is recovering, and they line up with the outcomes the ecological assessment hoped for.
We also learned something useful this year. As we opened up tracks and prepared potential building sites, the disturbance gave weeds like woolly nightshade and pampas a fresh chance to establish. Richard adjusted the programme to treat these flush areas early, which is a great reminder that restoration and development need to walk side by side at our site.
A community effort
What makes this work so special is that it belongs to our community.
Alongside the professional contractor work funded by the EIF, local volunteers have continued to roll up their sleeves and take real ownership of this landscape. Year Two volunteers contributed in excess of 60 hours hours of their time to weed management-focused restoration activities, and we are grateful for every single one.
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Our engagement with mana whenua continues to guide the work and honour the cultural significance of this whenua, and we are working alongside some of our neighbouring landowners so weed control reaches across boundaries - we all know, weeds do not recognise fence lines!
Thank you, and what comes next
Two years on, the Waikato Regional Council Environmental Initiatives Fund has helped us achieve something we could not have done alone. It gave us the means to bring in specialist expertise and to tackle these challenges at the scale they demand. We are deeply grateful for the Council's belief in both this project and in the biodiversity of the Coromandel.
This grant has now run its course, and the results speak for themselves. But weed management and restoration is a long game. The seedbanks are not finished with us yet, the wilding pines require another push, and we have other weeds yet to tackle. However our wetlands will reward every hour we put into them.
TCP is now seeking further funding to carry this momentum into a new phase. Our plan for the next two year period includes maintenance of results to date, alongside expanding focus to include different target locations and weed species. With continued support we can protect the gains made already and keep moving toward our initial goals of restoring the areas with the highest biodiversity values, namely the regenerating podocarp-broadleaf forest, the stream and its wetlands and tributaries.
Want to be part of it?
You can help us restore these areas of high-biodiversity value:
Join a working bee. No experience needed, just a willingness to get your hands dirty for a good cause. Tasks include: cutting vines and pampas seeds heads, and pulling young woolly nightshade. Find out more on our Volunteer page.
Donate. Every contribution helps fund the next stage of restoration. You can give through our Donate page.
The Colville Project is grateful for partners and supporters who understand that protecting our region's unique native biodiversity takes investment, expertise, and a community willing to show up.