Restoring 110 Hectares of Native Forest on Northland’s Kōwhairoa Peninsula

A project to restore 110 hectares of native forest on Northland’s remote Kōwhairoa Peninsula Historic Reserve is on track, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says.

What began with a local vision and volunteer hard work has grown into a thriving restoration project, thanks to the Provincial Growth Fund boost in 2020. Since then, 94,000 native plants have been established from locally-sourced seeds and pests brought under control, Mr Jones says.

The project received government funding of $1.54 million under the former Provincial Growth Fund’s One Billion Trees programme, administered by Te Uru Rākau – New Zealand Forest Service.

The project, led by Te Komanga Marae Trust, involves planting 132,000 native trees and controlling pests to recreate a native forest on steep, deforested, coastal land.

The Kōwhairoa Peninsula is a significant site for Māori and was remarkable for its diverse flora and fauna, and old growth forests which were unfortunately cleared for their timber by early settlers. This project is restoring the old forest species that once dominated the area. Mr Jones says.

Mr Jones travelled by boat to the remote Whangaroa Harbour reserve today to plant a tree and celebrate the forest restoration progress, five years after first visiting at the project’s launch.

The reserve land was returned to the Te Komanga Marae Trust to manage, as part of Ngāti Kahu ki Whangaroa’s 2017 Treaty settlement. Te Komanga Marae trustee Roger Kingi has led the project with guidance from ecologist Dr Adam Forbes and early assistance from the Department of Conservation.

The Kōwhairoa Peninsula Historic Reserve is a culturally and ecologically significant to New Zealand, it is great to be a part of the restoration of such a site. Mr Jones says.

The project is on track for completion at the end of 2026.