Tempting tui to come back
BY RACHEL YOUNG
Relevant offers
Native flaxes, trees and shrubs are being planted as a "tui enhancement area" at Whitehaven Wines.
Viticulture manager Stephen Dempster said the winery wanted to help bring the native bird back to the area, as it was important to protect the country's wildlife.
The winery finished planting 500 different nectar-rich and berry-bearing trees and shrubs yesterday.
Mr Dempster said it cost a few thousand dollars to establish the area by the time the plants were paid for and land was cleared.
Half of the plant costs would be covered by the Marlborough District Council as part of its Tui to Town natural-habitat restoration for the Wairau Plain, he said.
Now in its second year, the council-led project aims to create no less than five hectares of tui habitat over the next five years. The project includes funding from the Government's Biodiversity Fund.
South Marlborough has less than 1 per cent of natural forest and scrub left, mostly on private land. This means that tui – along with other native birds, insects, fish and lizards – have nothing to eat or live in, so they have retreated from the Wairau Plain in search of bush.
Mr Dempster said there were a few tui in the Pauls Rd area thanks to some neighbours with nice trees, but he hoped the winery's new plants would attract more of the birds soon. Once the area was established, it would break up the look of the surrounding vineyards.
- The Marlborough Express
Newest First
Oldest First
