No Place to Plant: The Hidden Funding Gap Hampering Wetland Restoration

Thousands of dollars can be secured to buy native plants, but finding funding to clear the invasive weeds standing in their way is proving a thorny issue for one Marlborough wetland restoration group. 

At the 27-hectare Hinepango Wetland in Rārangi, the community-led restoration group has cleared several kilometres of riparian margin and planted over 4,500 eco-sourced native plants. 

But after five years of intensive mahi, the group is certain that bigger gains could be made with the right funding.

Hinepango Wetland Restoration Group project leader, Letticia Dodson, says there is a major funding imbalance that favours "photogenic" outcomes - like tree planting - over less marketable but equally vital work, like invasive weed control. 

"Sponsors understandably love funding native plants because the result is visible, looks good in photos, and is easy to measure," Dodson says. "You can say your funding put another 500 or 1,000 plants in the ground. But before we can plant anything, we need to make that ground ready, and increasingly that's where we're getting stuck."

The group currently has over $20,000 in funds, but most of it must be used for plant purchases and cannot be redirected towards the specialist help the group desperately needs to prepare new areas for planting.

Consequently, the group says it has had to put planting temporarily on hold because it cannot clear ground quickly enough to keep pace. 

The Work Before the Planting

The situation highlights a part of wetland restoration the public rarely sees - the labour-intensive groundwork required before planting can begin. 

"Preparing the planting areas is gruelling work," says Dodson. "The Old Man's Beard, blackberry and barberry are a thorny mess which is incredibly difficult to clear. While our volunteers do their best, we lack the specialised expertise and equipment required to tackle it. The work is physically exhausting and frustratingly slow, and to be honest, beyond the ability of many of our members." Willow control presents its own challenges, often requiring specialised "drill and fill" techniques undertaken in thigh-high water.

The group makes its most significant progress when funding allows them to supplement their efforts with professional contractors; however, securing financial support for this type of work is rare. "Fortunately, we have recently secured a grant from the Top of the South Community Foundation, which will allow us to bring in the specialist contractors we need for the next stage," Dodson says.

Previous Investment Needs Protecting

The funding challenge has another dimension. Hinepango previously benefited from major willow control work through the Government's post-Covid Jobs for Nature - Mahi mō te Taiao programme, which enabled work beyond the volunteer group's capacity.

At the time, Dodson described the programme as a "huge leap forward" for Hinepango, allowing the group to access planting areas that may otherwise have taken years to reach.

However, the programme ended before the wider willow-control work was completed. The group estimates only around one-third of Hinepango received the initial treatment, while follow-up control is now needed in previously treated areas as willow begins to regrow.

"We've already seen what specialist willow control can achieve. Our concern now is protecting that investment. Willow isn't something you treat once and walk away from. Follow-up work is incredibly important; otherwise, there is a real risk of losing some of the progress that has already been made."

The group estimates that undertaking comprehensive follow-up willow control within the previously treated area could require approximately $100,000 in additional funding.

Specialist Restoration Work Fills an Important Gap

Marlborough-based business; Native Restorations has worked with the Hinepango Wetland Restoration Group for several years undertaking specialist invasive weed control and has also donated crew hours to the project.

Native Restorations owner Terence Stewart says community restoration projects can achieve remarkable results, but some jobs inevitably require professional expertise.

"Volunteers are an incredible resource, but there are some restoration jobs we simply shouldn't expect volunteers to undertake," Stewart says. "Working in difficult wetland environments, controlling mature willow and using specialist techniques and herbicides safely requires trained people, the right equipment and good health and safety systems."

Stewart says funding the initial clearance and follow-up work can ultimately unlock much more community restoration.

"The contractor might do the work that opens an area up, but that's only one part of the story. Once those invasive weeds are under control, volunteers can get in, natives can be planted, and natural regeneration has a much better chance. Specialist control and community restoration work hand-in-hand."

One of Marlborough's Significant Wetlands

Hinepango is recognised as a Significant Wetland in Marlborough's Environment Plan and is notable for its alternating gravel ridges and wetland hollows associated with the retreating shoreline of Cloudy Bay. The wetland supports important native flora and fauna and forms part of the wider wetland landscape around Rārangi.

Restoration is already producing encouraging results, with the group reporting the return of weka and pūkeko and increasing numbers of tūī, kererū and kingfisher.

Dodson says the project now needs support for the less visible work that will allow that recovery to continue.

"We're enormously grateful for every organisation, business and individual that has supported Hinepango. This isn't about taking away from planting; we need plants too. It's about recognising that successful restoration requires funding at every stage. Sometimes the most valuable contribution is funding the work that has to happen before the first plant can even go into the ground."

ENDS

Media contact:
Letticia Dodson: 
www.rarangi.org.nz/community-groups/hinepango-wetlands
hinepango@rarangi.org.nz

Terence Stewart: 
022 658 1904
info@native-restorations.com 
www.native-restorations.com