A partnership involving Southern Institute of Technology (SIT) Bachelor of Environmental Management students and a well-loved remnant of native bush within Invercargill city, has been recognised in this year’s Environment Southland Community Awards as the Environmental Action in the Community Winner: Kew Bush Restoration and Education Programme.
Kew Bush is 3.3 hectares of native bush located on the Southland Hospital grounds – there’s a short loop track which provides great access for families and children to see a slice of Southland’s tall forests which include Kahikateas, New Zealand’s tallest tree.
The Kahikatea forests would have covered large areas of Southland before people arrived; now, only a few patches remain on the Southland plains.
SIT Environmental Management Tutor, Jordon Traill, said the School of Environmental Management (EM) has taken its students on excursions to Kew Bush for years, as it provides a great example of old-growth remnant forest as well as a successful restoration programme.
“The forest is like stepping back in time; it’s our natural history. Kew Bush was looking pretty overrun by pests and degraded before the Friends of Kew Bush did something about it in the 1990s,“ Mr Traill explained, adding the group had carried out an amazing amount of hard work over the decades, led by Alan McPherson. “He wants to see the forest stay healthy and the work to continue.”
EM students have also volunteered and been involved in the Friends of Kew Bush group for years. “Our students have been doing the trapping, weeding and planting as community members.” When the Friends of Kew Bush were looking for people to step up and help, Mr Traill said it was an easy choice for the EM school to take on more of a central role in the project. “That’s how the Kew Bush Restoration and Education programme got started.”
The partnership facilitates SIT taking class trips during the week to carry out work, and every couple of months, the Friends of Kew Bush group, students, friends, family and the public get together for a working bee on a Saturday to get through the bigger jobs. Mr Trail was pleased to have Environment Southland providing funding last year through the Enhanced Environment Fund. “… we received expert advice from Catriona Gower who helped the students form plans and priorities for the forest block,” he added.
It is now part of the EM curriculum for students to return to Kew Bush every semester, learning and contributing more each time. They plant the trees, control the pests and make decisions on what should be done next for the forest – where to plant, where to target pests, what actions should be prioritised. The students learn in year 1, act in year 2 and make decisions based on their theoretical and local knowledge in year 3. “This informs the action for the years 1 and 2, and in time the cycle repeats. It’s student centred and community focused,” Mr Traill explained.
And Kew Bush provides the perfect place for SIT students to learn by doing. “Students need to pick up skills that they can apply to roles they take on after they graduate from the degree. Because of their experiences at Kew Bush, they know how to make decisions on trapping, planting and biosecurity.”
The awards night on October 3rd was a celebration of individuals, groups, families and businesses who are community leaders in environmental stewardship. “They’re getting on with not only protecting Southland’s amazing natural beauty, but enhancing it, all backed by generous sponsors who can see the value of the work being done.”
Mr Traill admitted gaining recognition for the Kew Bush project came as a shock. “The groups who were in the same category were doing amazing work; to win the award was a big surprise for our group – none of us had prepared a speech.”
The councillors who chose the awardees mentioned the positive partnership and succession planning. “They noted that seeing a project passed down to a new generation was great to see. It was a very inspiring event and a showcase of the hard work so many people do to improve the environment in Murihiku,” Mr Traill concluded.