Prior to the impact of people, Banks Peninsula was dominated by species-rich indigenous forest. Settlers’ descriptions of the forest in the 1860s suggests that it was dense and vigorous, with trees described as being of extraordinary proportions and the bush “looked as if the plants had interwoven themselves into a mass for the purpose of resisting all intruders”.

Bird and invertebrate life was similarly rich and descriptions by many settlers record the density of birds living in the forest. One early Peninsula settler reminisced about “the darkening of the sky” when huge flocks of kereru (wood pigeon) came to feed on the matai, kahikatea and miro berries.

Today that’s quite different with only about one per cent of the original forest area on Banks Peninsula remaining. These pockets of bush, which survive as public reserves, give some idea of the diversity that once typified Banks Peninsula. A lot is being done to protect and enhance wild areas all over the Peninsula, but it’s still far from the haven for fauna and flora that it used to be.

Why reWild?

The principle of reWilding is to let nature take her course. As we mention elsewhere, Hinewai is the best local example of this philosophy, but it is a long game, taking decades for regeneration.

Our environment in Wainui is a little different, we have dwellings, pasture, bush fragments, covenanted bush, and DOC land all in the same valley. So while mother nature knows best, we can give her a hand with the removal of invasive weeds which change the structure of our forest and bush, and pests which decimate our native species, especially birds.

As a community working in partnership with mother nature, we can together ensure Wainui is a haven in which nature and people thrive.