Home Creek’s 4000-hectare catchment is predominantly surrounded by sheep and beef stations, with an internationally significant wetland, the Kepler Mire, nestled in the middle.
The creek's main environmental challenges are pest plants like willow, gorse, broom and blackberry, as well as pest animals like possums.
The restoration project aims to enhance the creek's freshwater ecosystem and increase indigenous biodiversity by planting 6,500 native trees over five years.
The McDonalds are taking a step back from the day-to-day management of their farm and are looking forward to spending more time planting. Cameron says,
“We’ve been here since 1981, and we're not going anywhere else.These planting projects provide us with a perfect pastime activity to enhance our surroundings.”
The project's inaugural community planting day in May showcased the commitment from the local community.
Te Anau-Manapōuri residents and Environment Southland staff planted more than 500 native seedlings along the stream bank in just three hours.
Home Creek Nursery, a local business ecosourcing indigenous New Zealand plants, generously donated the plants.
During the early stages of the project, land sustainability officer and project coordinator Jessica Agate carried out an environmental DNA (eDNA) assessment of the stream.
This paints a picture of the diversity of life in contact with the stream.
“The eDNA sample taken confirmed a whole range of species were present in the stream, including longfin eels, koura (freshwater crayfish) and Gollum galaxiids, which haven’t been identified in this area before.”
