03/06/2026
In most of the reserve we don't mind patches of gorse and broom - they will get shaded out in time by the native trees. However it's a different matter in the skidsite - our little wetland where we have small plants that include sun orchids.
So over the last few weeks we've been focusing our efforts on removing the gorse, broom and Spanish health - roots and all - from this small ephemeral wetland. Disturbance favours w**ds - so we tiptoe about and we fill in the root holes we make. There's still plenty of gorse etc left but it looks so much better!
Meanwhile, Nature is busy planting. Through natural regeneration quite a lot of harakeke / flax and manuka has come in via the birds and the wind. It will be interesting to see how it changes!
