Pigeon Island Native Regeneration with Neill Simpson
12 Centennial Avenue, Arrowtown, Queenstown Lakes
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Presentation by Neill Simpson - eminent local Botanist, retired DOC Regional Botanist (Otago) & Chairman of Whakatipu Reforestation Trust.
You are invited to a fascinating presentation about how a group of Queenstown locals took action for nature and formed the Wakatipu Islands Trust to restore native vegetation on Pigeon & Pig Islands. Once heavily forested, the island's timber was extensively cut down and used for boat building and mining props. Once cleared it was farmed until 1983. Thankfully however, small pockets of the original diverse forest remained, allowing for remarkable regeneration after the removal of sheep and goats in 1984.
Pigeon Island, with its rich history as a camping ground for Maori on their Greenstone collection journey, holds remnants of its cultural past. Designated a Scenic Reserve in 1986, the island boasts four locally rare podocarp species, and lack of browsing animals makes it a sanctuary for endangered plants, including 13 species of Coprosma not commonly found in the area. Free from animal pests, the island serves as a refuge for our local bird species including weka, which have been successfully reintroduced.
Join us in exploring the inspiring journey of Pigeon Island's restoration, initiated in the 1980s and intensified in 1996 by the Wakatipu Islands Trust, supported by hundreds of volunteers, and community groups over three decades. Discover the challenges and setbacks, the successes, and how the lessons learnt from Pigeon Island have paved the way for the ongoing efforts of the Whakatipu Reforestation Trust to preserve our district’s ecological heritage.
This event is part of Conservation Week 2023.
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