National plant conservation award for NRC

The Northland Regional Council has won a national award for Local Authority Outstanding Contribution to Plant Conservation in New Zealand.

The award was presented Tuesday, 08 October as part of the New Zealand Plant Conservation Network’s (NZPCN) four-day biennial conference which is being attended by 165 people from around the country in Whangārei.

Councillor Jack Craw, who chairs the council’s Biosecurity and Biodiversity Working Party, says the council-wide award is a particular recognition of NRC’s Biodiversity and Biosecurity teams for their efforts across pest control, planting, monitoring and protection of dune lakes and duneland areas.

Northland Regional Councillor Jack Craw receives the award for Local Authority Outstanding Contribution to Plant Conservation in New Zealand in Whangārei last night. With him is Sarah Beadel, NZPCN committee member and director of conference co-sponsor Wildland Consultants.

“The role of the NZPCN is to facilitate and advocate for plant conservation as well as providing information and support to plant conservation practitioners, landowners, and managers which makes this award even more special as it is effectively recognition from colleagues who are experts within their field.”

In nominating the council for the award Rotorua ecological consultant Sarah Beadel said the council undertakes many work programmes which contribute to the conservation of native plants either directly or indirectly.

“In the main NRC’s role involves fostering enduring partnerships with mana whenua, community groups and landowners to give them the understanding and skills to take positive action and pass on their knowledge to others.”

The NRC monitors lake ecology including submerged and marginal wetland communities in over 100 lakes and supports or undertakes in-lake and catchment actions which protect or improve water quality, thereby safeguarding critically rare plant species such as Trithuria inconspicua, Utricularia australis and Isolepis lenticularis.

Council also monitors more than 30 wetlands on a five yearly cycle which feeds back into recommendations for landowners helping to improve wetland scores.

“On the coast, NRC led weed control, dune building, replanting, monitoring and advocacy helps restore precious foredune and backdune communities.”

The nomination said in the past year NRC had enabled the planting of around 15,000 dune plants and supported 30 CoastCare community groups.

“As one of the weediest places on earth, NRC Biosecurity Plant team has been busy over the last 10 years delivering weed workshops to upskill the public in weed recognition and control and supporting weed action co-ordinators and volunteers in Whangārei and High Value Areas.”

The nomination says the council’s terrestrial biodiversity team supports community events, bioblitzes and surveys which help people understand habitat values, rare species and how to look after them.

Monthly botanical rambles are run by NRC staff in their own time for keen staff and others to explore the plant biodiversity in the region, giving ramblers access to botanists and mana whenua plant experts and helping to develop their botanical literacy in the company of like-minded people.

The NRC Land Management team has contributed to plant conservation by fencing off stands of native forest within highly erodible land as well as providing fencing and planting grants for native forest, wetlands and riparian margins protecting plants from grazing and reducing sediment input into sensitive freshwater and marine habitats.

Meanwhile, Cr Craw – who received the award on behalf of the council at the conference – says the conferences, held every two years, are highly regarded as the best place to meet people who are passionate about plant conservation and to network and collaborate on shared issues and challenges.

Keynote speakers at the event included:

• Northland Regional Council Biodiversity Manager Lisa Forester talking about some of the incredible work done in Te Taitokerau to protect its unique dune lake plant communities.
• Geoff Davidson, speaking about the Native Forest Restoration Trust’s legacy of protecting forests across the motu for more than 40 years.
• Northland Forest and Bird advocate Dean Baigent-Mercer speaking about work being done to protect Northland’s special native ecosystems.
• Taoho Patuawa, Science Advisor for Te Iwi o Te Roroa, speaking about threatened native plant conservation.