Arthur Sandom, Rural Revegetation Solutions

There has been numerous letters advocating for the replacement of weeds on the Whakatāne escarpment with native plantings.

As someone who has experience in this type of activity, I thought a reply could be helpful.

A drone could be used to kill the weeds, but it is unlikely to be successful for long. Privet seedlings will appear and re-colonise the area. Pampas, woolly nightshade and a long list of other weeds will also be racing for the new growth opportunity.

So re-spraying will be needed, and needed, to achieve a habitat where natives won’t be smothered by weeds when planted.

However, once the dead weeds on the escarpment fully die and their roots begin to rot, water can easily penetrate the surface. That’s how erosion happens.

The most likely specie that will grow on a rocky escarpment is the Pohutukawa.

Planted at large spacing’s and maintained is an option to begin the smothering out of privet. Pohutukawa, unfortunately, can be quite destructive when they fall down and consideration of the risks this poses would need to be considered.

The advice I give to my customers who are getting me to undertake a regeneration project for them is to “focus on their assets”. “What native plants and habitats are present?” “Are they at risk from plant pests or animal pests?” Ensuring their ongoing survival and growth is the first priority.

So, for the escarpment it might be best to identify where there are native plants and ensure they are doing okay. From this stage, it can be managing and assisting the natural process of native plant regeneration that happens under and next to these areas.

So to those who only see the ever-present weeds on the escarpment, my advice is to look for the natives that are growing. Seeing the beauty rather than weeds is a healthy attitude to take to regeneration projects.