Native planting programme accelerates

Across New Zealand about eight million hectares of forest are native, making up nearly 80% of the country’s total forest area.

Over the past three years, Craigmore’s forestry business has made significant strides in contributing to restoring native ecosystems and creating native restorations where the environment is most suited to native vegetation.

We started native restorative planting, largely in riparian areas, in 2019. The scale of this work has really stepped up in the past couple of years. Since 2022, we have planted approximately 356,000 trees over 14 properties covering more than 324 hectares. This winter we’re on track to plant a further 45 hectares across five properties using 50,000 trees.

We strategically plant riparian setbacks on waterways and incised gullies. We focus on species such as mānuka, kānuka, kahikatea, tōtara and karamū, chosen for their ability to restore streamside ecosystems and support native wildlife. Water quality monitoring programs have been implemented which will demonstrate the environmental benefits over the long-term.
We plant indigenous species on highway verges that can’t be planted in tall species, so road shading is avoided. We are also restoring low-lying areas that historically would have been wetlands and planting them beneath powerlines that are generally inaccessible and more suitable for lower height natives.

At sites such as Manga-o-Rangi near Gisborne, 68 hectares has been planted in mānuka which is approximately 75,000 trees – this is illustrated by the area marked in blue on this map.

Our native planting programme is a shared responsibility, reflecting Craigmore’s values in action – balancing productivity with care for the land. It’s a collective effort involving our forestry managers and their teams, local communities, and our partners.