Hunua Quarry has developed an in-house nursery to supply native trees for the site's rehabilitation.

Keith Barber (left), Hunua's Environmental Coordinator designed the nursery and with the help of a contractor built an 18m² humidity-controlled seed-raising shed and a 72m² shade-house. There is also a stand-out area to harden off the plants and grow on to a suitable size for planting out. While Keith carries out a large proportion of the nursery tasks, Hunua's quarry operators help out with nursery maintenance and potting during quiet periods.

The nursery houses almost 12,000 native trees including Manuka, Kahikatea, Kowhai, Pseudopanax, Coprosma, Tawa and Puriri. The plants have all been eco-sourced from seed collected on the Hunua Quarry property and already, the nursery has supplied seedlings for the Trees for Survival Programme in the local area.

Next year, the nursery will provide seedlings for local schools to care for and plant out into the environment as well as supplying the Symond's Hill mitigation programme, an extensive planting project on the quarry site.

What is eco-sourcing?

Each area of native bush has a unique composition of plant species. From one area to another, these species can differ genetically - the most obvious variations being in plant form or leaf shape. Less obvious variations include susceptibility to disease and different plant growth or reproduction.

Eco-sourcing refers to the sourcing of plant propagating material from natural stands of vegetation, derived from naturally occurring parents, and the planting of the subsequent plants back in the same ecological locality from which they originated.