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Our places: The Fantail Trust – Rakaia Gorge

Pīwakawaka fantail image: Andrea Lightfoot

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The Fantail Trust – Rakaia Gorge

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Summary

  • The Trust was set up to establish a native bird and plant sanctuary along the Rakaia Gorge Walkway to
    protect the existing forest and ultimately restore adjacent de-forested areas by eliminating predators and pest plant species and strategic replanting.
  • They also aim to research the habitats and develop a better understanding of the culinary, medicinal, and environmental properties and their importance in Maori traditions.
  • Enhancing forest bird and invertebrate habitats by trapping predators and removing pest mammals helps restore essential ecosystem services including nutrient recycling and pollination. This in turn creates a hub from which native forests can expand, even under the canopy of gorse.
  • These services include long-term carbon sequestration in native trees and soils, far exceeding the short-term benefits of carbon drawdown by exotic trees.

  Our Places

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Home > Nature-based solutions > Mid Canterbury > Fantail Trust Rakaia Gorge

Summary

  • The Trust was set up to establish a native bird and plant sanctuary along the Rakaia Gorge Walkway to
    protect the existing forest and ultimately restore adjacent de-forested areas by eliminating predators and pest plant species and strategic replanting.
  • They also aim to research the habitats and develop a better understanding of the culinary, medicinal, and environmental properties and their importance in Maori traditions.
  • Enhancing forest bird and invertebrate habitats by trapping predators and removing pest mammals helps restore essential ecosystem services including nutrient recycling and pollination. This in turn creates a hub from which native forests can expand, even under the canopy of gorse.
  • These services include long-term carbon sequestration in native trees and soils, far exceeding the short-term benefits of carbon drawdown by exotic trees.
Fig. 1 Rakaia Gorge
Fig. 1 Rakaia Gorge

Context, origins, and purpose of the Trust

The Rakaia Gorge (Fig. 1) has a high ecological value and is considered to be regionally significant: “…as one of the few remnants of lower montane forest of Canterbury.” (Shanks, 1990).  Covering around 120 hectares, 121 native species of plants have been recorded, 16 of which are either threatened or at risk. The most common plants are kowhai, lancewood, cabbage tree, broadleaf with an understorey of New Zealand jasmine, wineberry, bush lawyer, and many ferns. There are also a few larger trees such as beech, kanuka, and totara (see the full list).
 
A forest of this size and type would normally be expected to support multiple native and endemic bird species. Unfortunately, stoats, rats, and possums infest the forest. Left unchecked, this would ultimately have led to the complete destruction of the forest, as keystone species that support and ensure healthy life-supporting ecosystem services including sequestration of carbon, would have been wiped out.
 

An understory of introduced pest plant species is exacerbating the problem.

Established in 2020 by Robert and Christine Koller, the owners of Quickenberry Guesthouse, the goal of the Trust is to protect the existing forest and ultimately to restore adjacent de-forested areas by eliminating predators and pest plant species and replanting in strategic locations. They also aim to research the habitats and develop a better understanding of the culinary, medicinal and environmental properties and their importance in Māori traditions.

Key Actions

Recognising that the native forest was under threat, the owners of Quickenberry Guesthouse contacted the Department of Conservation seeking advice on the best strategies to protect and restore the forest.

Baseline survey: The late Colin Burrows surveyed the forest and established a baseline of existing plant spaces (see below). The key predator species were identified: possums, rats, stoats and cats.

Set up a Charitable Trust: a crucial step as a vehicle for future fund raising. To enable nimble management, it was set up with two trustees rather than a large committee.

Trapping: a variety of predators, mixed terrain and locations (near to the gorge, forest, and close proximity to the guesthouse) requires different types of traps. For possums, we use Goodnature A12 traps supplemented by Timms traps; for rats and stoats, DOC 200s purchased from Ashley Rahahuri Rivercare Group plus Trapinator traps and some A24s.

Created the Fantail Trust website on Weebly, a cost-effective web platform, using photographs supplied by DOC, the Trustees, and a bird photographer guest of Quickenberry. Publicly announcing the establishment of the Trust and its goals quickly resulted in guests offering to sponsor traps.

Applied for funding: from the Rakaia Catchment Environmental Enhancement Fund, Selwyn District Council and ECan. The process of drafting these applications helped refine the initial plan by focussing on specific goals, processes, and outcomes. The success of these applications allowed us to expand the trapping network.

Weed control: we undertake weed control in co-ordination with ECan which removes wilding pines on foot and by helicopter (point spraying).

Monitoring: www.trap.nz is ideal as we can record both trapping outcomes and bird counts, both crucial in determining the progress and outcomes. Over time, this will also help inform any changes in strategies that may be needed, for example through a change in predator guilds.

Publicity: With this momentum, we approached local newspapers and magazines, resulting in  publicity from the Ashburton Courier, a local Methven publication and Latitude Magazine. This in turn helps enable further applications for funding to expand trapping.

How this helps mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change

  • Enhancing forest bird and invertebrate habitats by trapping predators and removing pest mammals helps restore essential ecosystem services including nutrient recycling, pollination, and climate regulation. This in turn creates a hub from which native forests can expand, even under the canopy of gorse.
  • These services includes long-term carbon sequestration in native trees and soils, far exceeding the short-term benefits of carbon drawdown by exotic trees.
  • Protecting birds through trapping enables seed dispersal and in turn this enables native plants to be spread elsewhere. 
Fig. 2 Kererū wood pigeon (Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae) are great at dispersing native seeds outside established forest areas.
Fig. 2 Kererū wood pigeon (Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae) are great at dispersing native seeds outside established forest areas.
  • Trapping possums in particular is crucial as they strip native trees and shrubs, killing them.
  • Reduces erosion along the cliffs. With flooding expected to increase as the climate warms, fine sediment from eroding cliffs can suffocate aquatic habitats and promote the growth of unwanted algae, leading to a loss in downstream ecosystem services and mahinga kai.
  • Actively engaging in public awareness of the problems facing this environment will help the community make better-informed decisions about the role of native ecosystems including their role in sequestering carbon, and their future management.
Fig. 2 Korimako bellbird (Anthornis melanura).
Fig. 2 Korimako bellbird (Anthornis melanura).

More information

       Setting up and using the DOC200 trap