Who pays for Hinewai Reserve? by Hugh Wilson
Hugh Wilson
How is Hinewai funded? It's a question we are often asked. It's a question I sometimes wonderingly ask myself, as it amazes me how Hinewai has grown from small beginnings into a substantial conservation project that costs a lot to run now, but which somehow manages to draw in enough resources to keep up with the outgoings.
Some readers may not know that Hinewai is a more-than-1000 hectare nature reserve in the Akaroa Ecological District of Banks Peninsula. The land is owned and managed by a private Charitable Trust whose prime aim is the protection and restoration of native vegetation and wildlife. But right from the beginning we decided that the public would have free access to the reserve, using our network of walking tracks, so long as this did not conflict with our conservation goals. To date there has been virtually no conflict; rather, public involvement has been overall a big plus.
I suppose I am biased but I think the reserve is magnificent. It now encompasses most of the catchments of two major stream systems and bays (Ōtānerito and Stony bays) and one smaller valley (Sleepy Bay). It extends from the subalpine summit of 806 m Taraterehu/Stony bay Peak, down to near sea level (but not, yet, quite to the coast.) The vegetation thus spans an altitudinal range of nearly 800 m, extending from snow tussock and Dracophyllum for example, down through beech forest, to nikau palm, kawakawa and tïtoki near the sea. Some 15 km of walking tracks are maintained for public use. In addition, Long Bay Road skirts the reserve on the northeast flank and passes through it for about 3 km to give road access to the lower Otanerito Valley.
Among the diverse fauna, birds are the most obvious; they include good populations of bellbird, kererü, brown creeper, grey warbler, tomtit, fantail, shining cuckoo, rifleman, paradise duck, harrier hawk, swallow etc.Our management philosophy is very much a minimum interference approach, although that certainly leaves us plenty to do. The emphasis is on natural regeneration of both flora and fauna. We identify the really deleterious factors that inhibit this natural regeneration-feral goats, possums, fire and a handful of invasive exotic weeds. Our time, energy and resources are focused on these things, as well as maintaining tracks (a big job) and removing gorse and broom from boundaries with farmland (also a huge job). Otherwise, gorse and broom are left undisturbed to act as nursery canopies for bush regeneration, eventually to be eliminated by natives overtopping and shading them. Planting is limited to open grass areas near the homestead and visitor centre, mostly as arboretum-style specimens. We use strictly local stock, propagated by Motukarara Conservation Nursery or potted up by us from Hinewai. Otherwise we leave the planting entirely to nature. She is very good at it.
In 1987 when our trust bought the first 109 hectares (with a farmhouse where I now live and a woolshed converted by Martin Oelderink into our visitor centre/lodge) I could hardly have envisaged what the reserve is like now-1230 hectares with a government valuation of nearly one and half million dollars, with annual expenditure excluding land purchase of over $100,000 (that's approaching $2000 a week!) and with income fortunately exceeding that. The excess of income over expenditure means that some expansion of the reserve is still possible, despite daunting and escalating land prices. Compare that with the figures for the year ended March 1990 a year and half before we added Otanerito Station in September 1991. Expenses that year were around $23,000 and income was around $28,000.
If there are such things as secrets of success in this sort of enterprise, I think they might be:
a) Careful, cautious financial management
b) Starting small
The careful, cautious financial bit centres on Maurice White, who in the late 1970s set up the fund which made Hinewai possible. Maurice is now in his 80s, but was then a Christchurch business man and accountant who decided he wanted to put some money towards conservation; he had a particular interest in native birds and preferred to focus on Banks Peninsula where he had spent his childhood (at Wainui). I met him in the mid 1980s while I was undertaking a detailed botanical survey of Banks Peninsula. I couldn't contribute much money to Maurice's dream, but I could keep an eye out for suitable land and I could give time, energy and ecological knowledge to any project that did materialise.
Before too long I located the original 109 hectare Hinewai block. Maurice's fund, despite the share market crash, was sufficient for the purchase price of $125,000. That might seem a small sum in comparison with today's land price expectations but it seemed a lot then.
Starting small was necessary. We had little in the way of financial surplus to run the place. For the first ten years there were no wages-people like myself, Maurice, Martin and Tim Galloway worked for nothing, living off other work or means (Martin largely lived off his savings for two years, I earned just enough from botanical work, and Tim was a sought-after botanical artist). Somehow we all managed and the satisfaction of setting up such a reserve was magnificent.
After four years of managing the 109 hectares, we rose to a new opportunity when Otanerito Station was put on the market. This time we had substantial assistance from the native Forest Heritage Fund (now the Nature Heritage Fund). Our trust still had to mobilise a lot of money and we had wonderful contributions from a steadily growing band of supporters. Gradually the trust was able to pay allowances and then wages to the small band of workers (the long-term staff has never been more than four so far, but we never quite get on top of the work with this number). There were further additions of land with high conservation value or potential.
In recent years we realised that a pressing need was for more intensive and systematic possum control (feral goats had long been eliminated). This is currently costing us a lot of money but some funding agencies have enough faith in us now to help us with substantial grants. Without those grants we would be really struggling to fund the necessary possum control. The results are very encouraging.
Nowadays our budget is still probably quite modest compared for example with some DOC reserves of a similar size. Wages, including for our dedicated possumer, myself and additional summer staff of two, make for by far the biggest outlay. Income is generated from invested trust funds (Maurice has great expertise in this and will be sorely missed one day) from the Banks Peninsula Track (of which we are a part) recently from carbon credits, thanks to our steadily regenerating forests, but most of all now from donations and grants.The local body (now Christchurch City Council) gives us substantial rates relief in recognition of the value Hinewai represents for conservation and recreation.
Because we are a charitable, non-profit-making trust, the reserve income is tax-exempt. But it is notable that the biggest single category of income is donations, from our wonderfully supportive backers. Hinewai is 20 years old this year, and such support grows slowly, but steadily, if people can see the worth and credibility of a conservation project like this.Our supporters get a twice-a-year newsletter to keep them informed and entertained, but perhaps more important for them and a wider public is the freedom to enjoy this beautiful, regenerating land.
back to top