Waituna Restoration Hits New Milestone

More than 8,600 native plants are in the ground near Waituna Lagoon, part of a long-term push to restore health to one of Southland's most ecologically fragile wetlands.

Whakamana te Waituna Charitable Trust planted 8,625 plants at Webster Block on May 8 — a 48-hectare property it acquired from Environment Southland for $1. Thirteen people from a single company did the planting.

Trust project manager Sarah Yarrow said the day was the result of 18 months of preparation, including weed control, fencing and sourcing the plants locally.

"The planting is part of the wider efforts of the Trust to repurpose retired farmland to support the ecological functioning of Waituna Lagoon, increase biodiversity and support improved water quality," Yarrow said.

The mix was roughly half hardy natives, half mānuka nurse crop, with 2,000 plant protectors installed. Not all will survive. Hares, rabbits, possums and deer are already a threat.

"Unfortunately hares, rabbits, possum and deer all like to browse on young plants so it is expected there will be some loss to browsing," Yarrow said. "The Trust has established an animal pest management programme which includes night shooting and a network of bait stations."

Yarrow said repeated pest control had brought hare numbers down significantly, but losses of around 5 to 10 percent of the new plants are still expected.

Waituna Lagoon sits next to Toetoes Bay at the southern tip of the South Island and forms part of the larger Awarua-Waituna Wetlands — a 1,350-hectare system with recognised cultural and ecological value. It also sits next to farmland, and has struggled in recent years with algal blooms and ongoing debate about when and how often it should be opened to the sea.

The trust, established in 2018, has set a target of restoring 2,000 hectares — around 10 percent of the wider catchment — and has been clear that the lagoon's health will keep declining without meaningful change.

Webster Block is one piece of that puzzle. Retired farmland, now being handed back.

The lagoon was last open to the sea between September 2024 and April 2025. A new 20-year consent for managing lagoon openings was granted in October 2025 to Environment Southland, Te Rūnanga o Awarua and DOC, though Federated Farmers has lodged an appeal.