Planting
Given enough time, most of the hill will naturally ‘rewild’ as forest birds spread native seeds. Since gorse requires direct sunlight to survive, the resulting native trees will overtop the gorse, ridding the hill of its gaudy yellow hue. But gorse will survive along any cut through the bush such as a mountain bike trail or walking track.
BHMET plants eco-sourced native trees (raised in Te Korowai Whakahou, our native plant nursery) in order to accelerate the rewilding of the hill and replace gorse with native habitat. This is important as populations of native birds rebound, free from the threat of predators.
BHMET partners with Trees That Count who provide funding to get native trees planted. Whenever you fly with Air New Zealand, please offset your carbon because that provides funding to Trees That Count.
Our normal planting season runs from April through to November although that’s entirely weather-dependent. Planting events are great for corporate team building and we have a lot of Southland business who send large teams once a year which is greatly appreciated. We also welcome individual volunteers – keep an eye on our Facebook page for planting dates.
Posted: 23 May 2025