Motueka couple Beth and Tony Bryant have won Forest & Bird’s national Golden Spade award, for leading the Raumanuka Restoration Project.
In the year to 31 May, the team of volunteers led by the Bryants planted 2011 plants at Raumanuka Reserve on the Motueka coast, and put in more than 700 hours.
Mr and Mrs Bryant began planting the 10-hectare reserve two years ago. They have faced many challenges in restoring the reserve, which was in the past used as a rubbish dump. It is exposed and dry, and has many weeds and rabbit pests.
The volunteers have risen to the challenge, sourcing local native plants and poultry manure to give them a head start. They put plastic shields and stakes around the plants to protect them from the rabbits, the wind, pesticide sprays and trampling by people and dogs.
On top of this work, Mr and Mrs Bryant have put in many hours organising the planting and funding from the Department of Conservation’s Community Conservation Fund.
They make planting days a social occasion, providing cakes, sausages and sometimes beer. Volunteers have learnt about conservation and about plants that are naturally found in Motueka. “We’re starting to get people interested in planting natives in their own gardens,” Mrs Bryant says.
The Bryants look forward to returning the coastal area to a beautiful place from which to watch the wide range of birds on the nearby Moon Creek estuary.
“It’s been a lot of work and a huge amount of learning,” Mrs Bryant says. “I’ve had to learn how to run volunteers, a lot about cooking and a lot about looking after the plants.”
Independent conservation organisation Forest & Bird has 50 branches around New Zealand, and most have community revegetation projects in which thousands of native trees are planted every year.
Beth and Tony Bryant received their Golden Spade award at conservation organisation Forest & Bird’s annual general meeting in Wellington last weekend.
