| 65 Monowai Ecological CONTRACTING Specialising in New Zealand native plants for landscaping re-vegetation and amenity purposes. Contact Us 03 689 8928 hello@matainurseries.nz nznatives.co.nz Proudly Supporting Monowai Ecological 03 477 5009 | LEVEL 1, 286 PRINCES STREET, DUNEDIN INFO@EMBARKACCOUNTING.NZ | EMBARKACCOUNTING.NZ Dunedin-based Chartered Accountants dedicated to helping you achieve your financial goals. O ering tailored solutions at every stage of your journey, we ensure the best outcomes for you. Contact our team today! T T Aimee Wilson Agreement protects transformed site The project is the flagship for Monowai Ecological, the Dunedin-based restoration business run by ecologist, Matt Thomson, and his partner, Michelle, with three staff. “A further assessment is undertaken after that to determine if it passes the criteria to become an open space covenant, which would then allow protection in perpetuity.” Six years ago, seven hectares of coastal hillside near Warrington lay smothered in Scotch broom, unloved for close to two decades. Today, almost 50,000 native trees, shrubs and grasses are taking hold there. The land is also protected by a conservation agreement, the first of its kind in New Zealand. The project is the flagship for Monowai Ecological, the Dunedin-based restoration business run by ecologist, Matt Thomson, and his partner, Michelle, with three staff. When landowners, Ben Ponne and Thea Van Der Muelen, approached Matt in 2020, they wanted to restore 7ha of their 10ha property with a coastal Otago-specific mix of native plants. Matt couldn’t believe the opportunity. The work was hard and ongoing: with tracks improved, culverts installed, seepages and drainage fixed, and around 9ha of broom mulched with an excavator. After three years, it was clear the land was transforming fast, and Ben wanted to fence and protect it for good. Matt had worked with the QEII National Trust on numerous properties. Together, the group settled on a QEII ‘restoration agreement,’ the first in the country. “This is a new mechanism to recognise active land rehabilitation and lasts for 10 years initially,” Matt says. “A further assessment is undertaken after that to determine if it passes the criteria to become an open space covenant, which would then allow protection in perpetuity.” More than $400,000 has gone into the restoration to date. Most of it has come directly from the owners and their global leadership business, NEO Leaders. Support has also come from Trees That Count, the Otago Regional Council Ecofund, Dunedin City Council biodiversity funds, the Ministry for Primary Industries, Rotary, and QEII, which contributed towards the fence. Rare plants and podocarps are the heart of the covenant. They include fierce lancewood (Pseudopanax ferox), fragrant tree daisy (Olearia fragrantissima), twiggy tree daisy (Olearia lineata), Teucrium parvifolium, Raukaua anomalus, mātai, tōtara, kahikatea and pōkākā. These are just some of the 55plus species planted so far. For Matt, it’s a long way from where he started. From working as a house painter in Wānaka chasing winters on the slopes, he retrained in ecology at the University of Otago in his late 20s. “I recognised there was a big gap in the restoration space that wasn’t being addressed.” Michelle, a UK-trained registered nurse, now works full-time for Monowai running admin, HR, and Health & Safety. The team works mostly across Otago, occasionally venturing further north and south. In 11 years, they have planted around 200,000 plants. The work takes Matt to remarkable places alongside great people. The real reward, though, comes with time. “You plant trees, and then five years later you get to go back and see some fantastic transformations.”
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