Retiring Farmland into Ngahere

Restoring Aotearoa together: Triple the area, at one-third the cost

Geoff Reid

Project Details Ngā taipitopito

Project Status:
Completed
Challenge funding:
$130,000
Research duration:
July 2022 – December 2022

Collaborators Ngā haumi

Balanced Forestry | Doug McCready | Jan Hania | Manu Caddie | Manuka Farming NZ | Pa Ropata (Rob Mc Gowan) | Pukekauri Farms | Rewhenua | Te Kapunga Dewes | Timothy Firkin Films | Tipu Whenua | Wai Kokopu

You are here: Home / Projects / ­ Retiring Farmland into Ngahere

What are we doing?E aha ana mātou?

When less productive farmland is ‘retired’ into ngahere (bush or forest) there can be positive impacts on water quality, greenhouse gas emissions, farm management and profitability.

This project builds on 10 years of results from a Primary Growth Partnership that retired over 400ha of marginal land into manuka plantations for honey, then applied that knowledge to broader land retirement into mixed natives on steep erosion-prone slopes, riparian margins, and critical source areas. This work identified potential savings of more than 50% of the current cost to establish native plantations, by replicating the natural reversion process.

This project will create short videos and graphics sharing best-practice methods for low-cost, broad-scale land retirement into ngahere, covering important factors including: weed and pest control before planting, mix of forestry-grade coloniser species, planting density for various tree species, soil biome, and establishment timelines.

How can the research be used? Ka pēhea e whai take ai te rangahau?

  • The educational resource and application of knowledge has the potential to reduce the cost of ngahere establishment by $10,000 per ha which equates to a $10 billion saving over 1,000,000ha.
  • The project will develop a visual digital resource for use by farmers, catchment groups and regional councils, showing the best-practice methods to undertake low-cost, broad-scale land retirement into ngahere.
  • A series of short videos and graphics will showcase successful low-cost native plantation examples, and how to do it successfully.
  • This resource will capture the key successes, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of using forestry techniques and forestry-grade plants to establish native plantations.

Research team Te hunga i whai wāhi mai

Project Lead/Science Lead
Alison Dewes
Tipuwhenua
John Burke
Pukekauri Farms
Bronwyn Douglas
Balanced Forestry
Tim Firkin
Documentary Filmmaker

Tools & resources Ngā utauta me ngā rauemi

Method

Lower Cost Native Restoration of Farmland: Tīmata Method Fact Sheet

This six-page fact sheet on the Tīmata Method has been developed for New Zealand land owners. The Tīmata Method, which in Māori translates to begin,…
View Method
Video

The Tīmata Method: A low-cost way to retire farmland into native forest

Restoring erodible land in New Zealand into native forests can be a challenging and costly process, limiting private landowners’ participation in large-scale projects. However, there…
View Video
Technical Report

Retiring Farmland into Ngahere

The purpose of this report, and information video is to introduce successful low-cost native planting methods which can be used as an educational resource for…
View Technical Report

In the media Mai i te ao pāpaho

Farmers Weekly
“It is estimated NZ has about 1 million hectares of land that could be retired into natives. The Timata method represents savings of $20 billion across the country in achieving that"

Pathways to Transition Projects

Rural Professional Fund 2020 21

Rural Professionals Fund 2020–21

There were 15 successful projects in the first funding round for the Our Land and Water Rural Professionals Fund.
View Project
Rural Professional Fund 2021 22

Rural Professionals Fund 2021–22

There were 12 successful projects in the second funding round for the Our Land and Water Rural Professionals Fund.
View Project

Implementing Te Mana o Te Wai

Supporting iwi, hapū, water users, and decision-makers to understand and implement policy that prioritises Te Mana o te Wai
View Project
Taiao Manawa Ora Purpose Led Change Turquoise Small Scaled

Revitalise Te Taiao

Place-based research to develop evidence-based examples of how agribusinesses and communities can make enduring changes in land use, management, value chains, and market focus to…
View Project
Puhoro Stem

Pūhoro STEMM Academy

Our Land and Water is a primary sponsor of the Pūhoro STEMM Academy, a mentoring and support programme for Māori high school students.
View Project
Next Generation Influencers

Next Generation Influencers

This was a one-year programme to develop the capability of influential, innovative future leaders.
View Project
Scroll to Top