Regenerating native bush for future generations
Anna and Nicholas bought land in Banks Peninsula, Canterbury just for the purposes of growing nature. In this video, they talk about their experience of restoring the land with native trees.
Watch Nicholas and Anna talk about buying land to restore native bush on it.
Duration: 05:31
[The title of the video: “Regenerating native bush for future generations”, and white logos for Te Uru Rākau – New Zealand Forest Service and the Ministry for Primary Industries appear in front of an image of trees and hills.]
[The video location appears on screen over trees and hills. The location is: Little River, Banks Peninsula.]
[Footage shows trees and an overhead shot of a house surrounded by native trees.]
[Text on screen says: Nicholas Head, Landowner.]
[Nicholas Head speaks to the camera. He is sitting in a chair, outside with native plants in the background].
Nicholas: Before humans arrived and certainly before Europeans arrived, this area was all forested and it was primarily in podocarp hardwood forest of tōtara and matai.
[A dead tree is shown with smaller trees planted around it, sunlight shines through the dead tree.]
Nicholas: But of course, in the 1840s, European settlers initially started felling and milling the wood here and, and from that it became a farm.
[Stumps of trees are shown in a field with long grass surrounding them.]
[Nicholas talks to camera.]
Nicholas: It was farmed for a long, long time, but remnants held on in the gullies. Most of the tree species that comprised the cover are still here, that are been, they've survived in refuge here in bits and pieces where stock can't get to.
[Nicholas and Anna are with their children and two dogs in front of a wooden cottage surrounded by native trees.]
[Text on screen says: Anna Cameron, Landowner.]
[Anna sits in a chair with native plants in the background and talks to the camera.]
Anna: We bought this land approximately five years ago just for the purposes of growing nature, essentially.
[An overhead shot shows the land, with the small wooden cottage in a valley to the left. Hills with native trees and vegetation surround it.]
Anna: It felt like a good thing and the right thing to do about purchasing this property and, and supporting it to let the whenua regenerate back to what it wants to be.
[A camera zooms out to show hills with trees and grass covering them. In the distance is a water body and clouds around the tops of the hills.]
Nicholas: Conservation chatter recognised this land as having not only real potential and natural values, but also it formed an important link.
[Anna speaks to the camera.]
Anna: So we've got this contiguous track of land that's recovering, and so that's a mixture of private ownership and crown and local government ownership.
[Nick, Anna, their children and 2 dogs are in front of the wooden cottage. Anna pats the dogs.]
Nicholas: We were concerned that, you know, these areas are being lost.
[The family walks across the land on grass surrounded by native trees.]
Nicholas: You know, we managed to enter quite a bit of it into it in ETS as well and we never did it for that purpose, but the fact that we have got quite a bit into the ETS means that it earns some income, and the income can be invested back into conservation here. That in itself is a good thing.
[Nicholas talks to camera.]
Nicholas: All we had to do really was take away the feral cattle that were here and a few feral sheep and it's really incredible, the regeneration is remarkable. It was six cattle pretty much stopping the regeneration on this property of certainly all the palatable native hardwoods. In terms of management, it's not that much, you know, it's pretty much a less-is-more approach.
[Small broad-leaved cabbage trees are surrounded by plant guards, Anna and Nicholas stand near the trees, Anna checks on the trees while Nicholas talks to camera.]
Nicholas: This is sort of the only planting we've done. This is a rare broad-leaved cabbage tree, you know, the Cordyline indivisa it's really rare on, on the peninsula now, so we just planted a few here to get a few seed sources back in. That's the only planting we do, which is five plants.
Nicholas: As long as you've got seed sources, enough rainfall, you can just walk away from it and the native trees will just come back and that's exactly what's happening here.
[Anna and Nicholas look at the trees.]
Anna: You can see that the land has recovered and it's wanted to recover and we can look over the property and look in different parcels of it, and you can see it at different stages of regeneration.
[A small waterfall is surrounded by ferns and mossy rocks.]
Anna: The first is down in the valleys where there's streams flowing through, and the bush in there is rich, it's healthy, it's dense, it's cold, it's murky–but it's thriving.
[Anna and her daughter walk through the bush, Anna is holding her daughter’s hand.]
[Anna talks to camera.]
Anna: Then there's a middle section, which is a mosaic of open grassland, gorse and also those first serial species that you see with biodiversity regeneration. So kanuka and mānuka for example.
[Anna and her children walk through the land, Anna carries one of her daughters on her back.]
[Footage of the top of the hill shows mostly open land, with long grasses and a mix of plants.]
Anna: And then up on the tops that's open. We've still got quite a lot of exotic grasses up there, and that's the window into the future in terms of where we need the regeneration to occur.
[Anna talks to camera.]
Anna: And so in terms of the health and the wellbeing of the property, the whenua, of the flora and fauna that exists here, it's only increasing in time. And so the hope is when we look here in 10 years, 50 years, 150 years, that the property’s just continued to regenerate.
[A drone shot of the land shows areas with lots of native trees and vegetation surrounded by areas of grass and more scattered plants.]
[Nicholas talks to camera,]
Nicholas: In New Zealand, we can't hide from the fact that humans have had a major impact. On Banks Peninsula itself, less than 1% of the original forest remains. So we can't hide from that fact.
[Hills are shown with scattered plants and trees.]
Nicholas: And if we really want to improve and protect our indigenous biodiversity, we need to go further than just protecting the last little bits that remain.
[Anna and Nicholas look at trees on the land.]
Nicholas: You don't have to do much to get the native forest back.
[Five small broad-leaved cabbage trees are surrounded by plant guards.]
Nicholas: So, you know, it's a wellbeing thing, isn't it? You know, you feel good about that.
[Anna and her daughter walk through the bush.]
[Anna talks to camera, sitting in a chair.]
Anna: There's this huge amount of knowledge and evidence out there around the importance that biodiversity, native biodiversity and being in it, and how important it is for you as a person, as a human to connect with nature.
[The family are at the wooden cottage looking out over the land.]
Anna: Properties like this and the work that Nick and I are doing here, it is actually really achievable.
[The family stand amongst the native trees.]
Anna: To show people if we can build that, it would be a great thing to see more private ownership for the purposes of native reforestation.
[Nicholas talks to camera, sitting in a chair.]
Nicholas: There's all sorts of opportunities to allow engagement from all aspects of the community, which we're open to about pest control and everything else.
[An overhead shot shows the land, with the small wooden cottage in a valley to the left. Hills with native trees and vegetation surround it.]
Nicholas: There's land that joins the Double Ridge line, which is public track, so it's highly visible.
[Nicholas talks to camera, sitting in a chair.]
Nicholas: We are working with the Rod Donald Trust to get public access through the property so people can also see nature recovering up close if they want to. And it's all part of the sort of wider notion of offering something up.
[Anna talks to camera, sitting in a chair.]
Anna: Being here and being part of the community's been a really neat benefit. I feel part of the Little River community and I also feel more part of the Banks Peninsula community as well. Watching my family grow here will be really special.
[Anna and Nicholas’ daughters run through the long grass.]
Anna: The girls, they're already so involved here and they just turn into little toe-rags when they're running around here and it's just because they're so happy. And so they've just been given a really amazing opportunity to build from the experiences and the knowledge that they gather from running around here.
[Nicholas talks to camera, sitting in a chair.]
Nicholas: It's about ensuring that nature has a place to recover and thrive and you know, and my family can be part of that.
[A final shot shows the small wooden cottage surrounded by hills with native trees and plants on them.]
[A green background appears, text on it says: Visit the Canopy website to learn more about planting trees. Canopy.govt.nz.]
[Logos for the Ministry of Primary Industries and Te Uru Rākau – New Zealand Forest Service appear in front of a green background. Text on the screen says: Te Uru Rākau – New Zealand Forest Service is part of the Ministry for Primary Industries.]
Bringing back the forest
Before people arrived, Banks Peninsula was covered in podocarp and broadleaf forest. The forest mainly consisted of tōtara and mataī. Over time, most of this forest was cleared for farming and human settlement. Only small patches survived in gullies and places where animals couldn’t reach.
A new beginning
Five years ago, Nicholas Head and Anna Cameron bought a block of land in Little River on Banks Peninsula. They had one goal: to let nature recover. The couple loved the block’s natural attributes. They could see the potential to connect it with other recovering areas nearby.
Anna says: “We bought this land approximately 5 years ago just for the purposes of growing nature, essentially. It felt like a good thing and the right thing to do about purchasing this property and supporting it to let the whenua regenerate back to what it wants to be.”
Letting nature lead
The first step was simple: remove the 6 cattle and handful of sheep eating native seedlings.
“All we had to do really was take away the feral cattle that were here and a few feral sheep and it's really incredible, the regeneration is remarkable,” Nick says.
Nick and Anna took a “less-is-more” approach, letting the land heal itself. They made one exception to the hands-off approach. They planted a grove of 5 rare broad-leaved cabbage trees (Cordyline indivisa), which are now uncommon on the peninsula. The plantings will help bring back a seed source for the future.
As long as you've got seed sources, enough rainfall, you can just walk away from it and the native trees will just come back”
Anna
Watching the land recover
Thanks to sufficient seed sources and rainfall, the native trees are returning across the property.
Anna says the valleys are already full of healthy, dense bush. The middle areas are a mix of grassland, gorse, and early native species like kānuka and mānuka. On the hilltops, exotic grasses still dominate. These areas will be the next frontier for regeneration.
“As long as you've got seed sources, enough rainfall, you can just walk away from it and the native trees will just come back and that's exactly what's happening here,” Anna says.
Intergenerational rewards
Anna says access to native biodiversity is important for people.
“It's a wellbeing thing, isn't it? You know, you feel good about that. There's this huge amount of knowledge and evidence out there around the importance that biodiversity, native biodiversity and being in it, and how important it is for you as a person, as a human to connect with nature.”
And she’s seeing the benefits of that connection up close with her children.
“Watching my family grow here will be really special. The girls, they’re already so involved here. And they just turn into little toe-rags when they’re running around here and it’s just because they’re so happy.”
It's about ensuring that nature has a place to recover and thrive.”
Nick
The payback
Nick says the restoration of their property proves that native forest will come back if you remove pests and let nature take control.
“If we really want to improve and protect our indigenous biodiversity, we need to go further than just protecting the last little bits that remain. You don't have to do much to get the native forest back.”
Anna says the health and the wellbeing of the property is increasing all the time. “And so the hope is when we look here in 10 years, 50 years, 150 years, that the property has just continued to regenerate.”
The couple say their special property is now part of the local community. It forms part of a contiguous tract of Banks Peninsula land that's recovering. The parcels of land span a mixture of private, Crown, and local government ownership. Collectively, they create a valuable corridor of regeneration. Nick and Anna have plans to allow public access to their property. They want others to see nature recovering up close.
“It's about ensuring that nature has a place to recover and thrive,” Nick says, “and my family can be part of that.”
Here’s why regenerating land might make sense for you
- Restore and protect native forest for future generations.
- Grow native forest where little remains – it’s not enough to protect what’s left.
- Connect the land to a wider corridor of native bush.
- Earn extra income through the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) if eligible.
- See how easy it is to do – remove pests, plant any rare species you want, and let nature take over.
“Properties like this, and the work that Nick and I are doing here, it is actually really achievable,” Anna says. “It would be a great thing to see more private ownership for the purposes of native reforestation.”
More information
Learn more about native restoration techniques.
Find out about native reversion and the Emissions Trading Scheme.