Wellbeing at the centre of weed work in Fiordland
Madeleine recalls her interest in Lake Mistletoe as a child planting native trees with Forest & Bird's Kiwi Conservation Club. She has found returning there to work on the buffer zone project very rewarding.
Warren Jensen, an employee of Milford Sound Tourism, takes part in weed identification training for the Fiordland buffer zone project.
Madeleine's first impressions were of a massive area of impenetrable vegetation. "I wondered how we could even break through the thick wall of bracken to get to the weeds. And, I wondered, what I had got myself into!" Madeleine says.
"At Lake Mistletoe, we targeted two particularly invasive weeds, Chilean fire bush and cotoneaster. We had gloves, safety glasses, hand saws, and bottles of gel herbicide. It didn't take us long to get our 'eye in' on the weeds, but you had to get right into the thickest of scrub to find them.
"We'd clear away the bracken, lop off the branches of the mature weed trees and saw the main trunk close to the ground. We painted the stumps and ends of the branches with gel paste. All the cut wood had to be stacked off the ground to prevent it from re-rooting. We would be left with a halo of seedlings where the tree once stood, and these had to be removed as well. The best approach was to take your time and be very methodical."
Madeleine says they came across a few native seedlings, predominantly coprosma, pittosporum and lancewood, which was cause for hope that the area may regenerate in time. The possibility that their hard work would give these young plants the best chance at establishing and aiding the regeneration of the area was motivating. She would love to see the ongoing weed work supplemented with extra native planting.
"It's very easy to get overwhelmed with the task. The work is physically demanding, and you can't avoid feeling its effects at the end of the day.
“It is slow going due to the nature of the bush, and we didn't get as much done as we'd hoped. But we are really proud of what we have achieved so far," Madeleine says.
The weeding work has paused for winter, and with guiding off Madeleine's radar until next spring, she is undertaking contract work and spending time with her family. Madeleine intends to return to the work next season, saying that despite the challenges, she enjoyed it!
A particularly memorable day for Madeleine was a visit by Minister Dr Ayesha Verrall, in her role as Acting Conservation Minister. "We were students at Fiordland College together. The level of personal interest she took in the project and the people doing the work and how our community was doing was nice to see."
Another benefit of the project was community building. Madeleine says it was good to get to know some of the others doing weed control in the area, with 44 people employed on the scheme. The group spanned several generations and cut across diverse sectors within the community. This aspect, being outdoors and involved in conservation work, contributed to both individual and collective wellbeing.
"Becky and Kylie were outstanding. They were really good to work with and always had the wellbeing objective at the heart of the programme, whether that was health and safety or emphasising that the programme was about keeping people in our community in employment."
The numbers
- Teams weeded approximately 364 hectares in the first season, including 360 residential sections in Te Anau.
- Environment Southland is contributing a further $25,000 and staff time for three seasons of weed work.
You can read the full Envirosouth magazine as a PDF online here.
