Environment

The forests in the Water Collection Area include superb rata podocarp, sub-tropical emergent forest above a canopy of hinau, kamahi, rewa rewa and tree ferns. Some black beech is found on drier sites, and silver beech on the high ridge-tops.

Greater Wellington carefully manages the area to protect the rich variety of plant, fish, insect and bird species that make up the forest ecosystem.  A wide range of pest animal species are being intensively controlled in the area including possums, rats, stoats, deer, pigs and goats.  We use permanent vegetation plots and photo points as well as animal browse plots to monitor vegetation recovery and animal numbers in the area, and regular bird monitoring is used to track the recovery of native bird populations.

North Island robins are being reintroduced to the catchment in 2012-2013. The first of three planned translocations took place on Sunday 22nd July, see the press release here.  Robins are one of several bird species that were once common in the catchment, but died out following the arrival of mammalian predators in the late 19^th century.

North Island brown Kiwi are self-introducing themselves into the catchment from the adjacent reintroduction programme run by the Rimutaka Forest Park Trust.