Restoring Hinepango Wetland: Why Planting Natives Is Only Half the Job
Updated: Sep 22
At Hinepango Wetland in Rārangi, Marlborough, that work has become one of the biggest challenges facing the community-led restoration project. Native Restorations has worked closely with the Hinepango Wetland Restoration Group, providing specialist contractor support to control invasive weeds and help prepare areas of the wetland for native restoration and planting.
Now in its fifth year, the Hinepango Wetland Restoration Group has cleared several kilometres of riparian margin and planted over 5,000 eco-sourced native plants. Yet invasive species including willow, Old Man's Beard, blackberry and barberry continue to restrict how quickly new areas can be restored.
The problem isn't necessarily finding money for plants. It's finding funding for the specialist work required to help create places to plant them and keep them protected.
The 30-Second Answer - Restoring Hinepango Wetland
Hinepango Wetland is a 27-hectare freshwater wetland at Rārangi and one of Marlborough's significant remaining wetland environments. Restoration work is helping improve habitat and biodiversity, but invasive weeds remain a major challenge.
While volunteers can undertake planting and ongoing maintenance, some weed control requires trained contractors, specialist equipment and carefully managed herbicide use.
Willow control, for example, can involve contractors working in thigh-high water using specialist drill-and-fill techniques.
Wetland weed control requires specialist knowledge because the work is being carried out in and around sensitive waterways. Appropriate herbicides and application methods must be carefully selected to minimise risks to aquatic environments, while difficult access, mature trees and the specialist techniques needed to treat species such as willow add another layer of complexity. Combined with health and safety requirements, it means this type of work is generally not suitable for volunteers and is best undertaken by trained restoration professionals.
Funding for plants, guards and mulch is often easier to secure than funding for this specialist labour. The result is an unusual problem:
restoration groups can have plants funded and ready to go, but not enough cleared ground to plant them.
Hinepango Wetland: A Rare Marlborough Ecosystem Worth Protecting
Hinepango isn't simply an area being replanted. The wetland covers approximately 27 hectares of conservation land and is recognised as a Significant Wetland under the Marlborough Environment Plan. Its alternating gravel ridges and wetland hollows, formed in association with the retreating shoreline of Cloudy Bay, make it particularly unusual. This type of wetland environment is now almost extinct in New Zealand.
Despite historic drainage, grazing and invasive weeds, Hinepango continues to provide habitat for important native flora and fauna. The wetland provides habitat for threatened and important native species including bittern, Urtica perconfusa, swamp maire and Mazus novaezeelandiae, with the group noting that giant kōkopu may also be present.
Restoration is already showing encouraging signs. The group reports the return of weka and pūkeko, alongside increasing numbers of tūī, kererū and kingfisher. The challenge now is ensuring the restoration can keep moving forward.
Five Years of Restoration Are Making a Difference
Restoring Hinepango Wetland is a long-term project, but the work already completed shows what can happen when community volunteers, conservation organisations, funders and specialist contractors work together.
Since the Hinepango Wetland Restoration Group was established in 2021, more than 5,000m² of riparian margin has been cleared and over 4,500 eco-sourced native plants established. The group works closely with the Department of Conservation (DOC), while local schools, students, businesses and volunteers have also contributed time and expertise.
Previous support has come from organisations including Marlborough District Council, Yealands Sustainability Fund, Top of the South Community Foundation, Redwood Trust, Transpower CommunityCare Fund and Merrill & Ring. Native Restorations and VinePower have also donated specialist crew hours to assist with invasive weed control.
A Major Boost Through Jobs for Nature
Hinepango also benefited from the Government's post-Covid Jobs for Nature - Mahi mō te Taiao programme, which funded large-scale environmental weed control across Marlborough and the wider Top of the South.
At Hinepango, this enabled specialist work targeting invasive species including willow and Old Man's Beard. At the time, Hinepango Wetland Restoration Group project leader Letticia Dodson described the work as giving the project a “huge leap forward”, opening areas for planting that the volunteer group otherwise may not have been able to access for several years.
That investment demonstrated just how valuable funded specialist weed control can be.
However, removing invasive species such as willow is rarely a one-off job. Regrowth needs to be identified and controlled, and follow-up work is critical if previously cleared areas are to continue moving towards native regeneration.
For Hinepango, that is now one of the most pressing challenges:
protecting the restoration gains already made while continuing to open new areas of the wetland for recovery.
The Work That Has to Happen Before Planting
Planting is one of the most visible parts of wetland restoration, but doing the groundwork in preparation for planting can be considerably more difficult.
At Hinepango, dense infestations of invasive weeds can prevent native vegetation from naturally re-establishing and make some areas difficult for volunteers to safely access. A review of the group's work identified controlling these weeds as the single biggest barrier to restoring larger areas of the wetland.
Why Some Weed Control Needs Specialists
Certain jobs simply aren't suitable for volunteer working bees.
Willow control can require specialist drill-and-fill techniques, selective herbicide use and work in challenging wetland conditions, including standing water. It requires appropriate equipment, experience and health and safety procedures.
Other invasive species can also create difficult working conditions. Old Man's Beard, blackberry and barberry can form dense, tangled growth that makes clearing large areas extremely labour-intensive.
This is where professional environmental contractors such as Native Restorations complement the work of community groups. Contractors can undertake the technically difficult initial control, allowing volunteers to concentrate on planting, maintenance and the many other jobs involved in restoring a wetland.
Why Willow Control Doesn't End After the First Treatment
Willow is particularly challenging because initial control is only part of the process. Treated areas need monitoring for regrowth and follow-up where required.
For Hinepango, this makes continued management especially important. Significant work has already gone into opening areas of the wetland. Without effective follow-up control, invasive vegetation can begin reclaiming ground that has already required considerable time, labour and funding to restore.
In restoration, protecting completed work can be just as important as starting the next area.
The Funding Gap: When You Have Plants but Not Enough Cleared Ground
One of the more unusual challenges facing Hinepango isn't a shortage of funding for native plants. Funding for plants, guards and other tangible restoration materials can be relatively accessible because the outcome is easy to measure: a funder can see exactly how many plants their contribution has provided.
Specialist contract labour is much harder to fund.
This has created a bottleneck. The Hinepango Wetland Restoration Group currently has $20,000 allocated specifically to plants, plant guards and mulch mats, but under those funding agreements, that money cannot be redirected towards the specialist clearance needed to prepare additional areas for planting. The group says it has even had to reduce plant funding applications because invasive vegetation cannot be cleared quickly enough to keep pace.
Funding the Less Visible Part of Restoration
For businesses, organisations and funders wanting to support environmental restoration, this highlights an important opportunity.
Funding specialist labour may not favour a photographic outcome, like tree planting, but it can provide for the vital groundwork that allows the next stage of restoration to happen.
It can mean another section of wetland becoming accessible. Another area ready for native planting. Or previously treated land receiving the follow-up control it needs.
At Hinepango, funding what's happening before the planting could now be one of the most valuable ways to help the project progress.
Protecting the Investment Already Made
Restoration isn't finished when the initial weed control is completed. For persistent species such as willow, follow-up management is essential to stop regrowth from undoing earlier work. This is particularly important at Hinepango.
Significant investment through the Jobs for Nature programme allowed large-scale willow control to take place within the wetland. However, that programme ended before the wider job was completed. According to the Hinepango Wetland Restoration Group, only around one-third of the wetland received the initial treatment, and willow is now beginning to regrow in the treated areas.
The priority isn't simply clearing more land. It is also protecting the considerable investment of funding, contractor hours and community effort that has already gone into restoration.
Follow-Up Control Matters
The group estimates that a comprehensive programme of follow-up willow control within the previously treated area could require approximately $100,000 in additional funding.
Without that ongoing work, there is a risk that willow will gradually re-establish, reducing the long-term benefit of the original investment and making future restoration considerably harder.
Continuing this work would also contribute to a bigger ecological goal. Hinepango forms part of a wider wetland landscape, and restoration aims to strengthen the wildlife corridor between Hinepango and the Rārangi Wetland to the north, where extensive restoration has already taken place.
Rather than starting from scratch, the opportunity now is to build on what has already been achieved and ensure previous restoration work delivers lasting results.
How Businesses and Funders Can Help Hinepango
Supporting Hinepango doesn't necessarily mean funding thousands of native plants. Right now, some of the greatest value could come from helping fund the specialist work that allows those plants to get into the ground in the first place.
For businesses, community organisations and environmental funders, contributions could help cover specialist contractor hours, weed-control materials, equipment and the ongoing management of previously treated areas.
Organisations already have a strong history of working together at Hinepango. The project has received support from community trusts, environmental funds, local businesses and contractors, alongside the considerable contribution made by volunteers.
Every Stage of Restoration Needs Support
A successful wetland restoration project needs many different helping hands. Some people can volunteer at planting days. Others can provide equipment, professional expertise or contractor hours. Businesses may be able to sponsor a particular stage of weed control, while larger funders can help make longer-term programmes possible.
What matters is recognising that the work beneath the planting is just as important as the planting itself.
For Hinepango, additional support would help turn areas currently dominated by invasive vegetation into habitat where native plants can establish, wildlife can benefit and volunteers can continue the restoration work they have already started.
The Next Chapter for Hinepango Wetland
Hinepango has already shown what sustained community restoration can achieve. The next challenge is maintaining that momentum.
The long-term goal is not simply to remove weeds or increase the number of natives planted. It is to improve the health, biodiversity and resilience of the wetland, while creating stronger connections with the wider wetland network and native habitat surrounding Rārangi.
That will take time. Wetland restoration is rarely a single project with a clear finish date. It requires ongoing monitoring, follow-up weed control, native regeneration and continued collaboration between volunteers, conservation organisations, specialist contractors, businesses and funders.
For Hinepango, much of the groundwork has already been laid.
The opportunity now is to protect that progress and give one of Marlborough's important remaining wetlands the chance to recover for generations to come.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is Hinepango Wetland important?
Hinepango is a 27-hectare freshwater wetland at Rārangi, Marlborough. It is recognised as a Significant Wetland and is notable for its alternating gravel ridges and wetland hollows associated with the retreating shoreline of Cloudy Bay. It also provides habitat for a range of native plants, birds and freshwater fish.
What invasive weeds are being controlled at Hinepango?
Key invasive species include willow, Old Man's Beard, blackberry and barberry. These weeds can dominate areas of the wetland and restrict the recovery and establishment of native vegetation.
Why are willows difficult to control in wetlands?
Willow control can require specialist techniques such as drill and fill, including work in standing water and the careful use of herbicides. Follow-up is also important because treated willow can regrow, meaning control is not a one-off job.
Why can't volunteers complete all the restoration work?
Volunteers are central to Hinepango's restoration, but some jobs require specialist skills, equipment and health and safety procedures. Professional contractors can undertake more technically demanding weed control, allowing volunteers to focus on planting and ongoing restoration activities.
How can businesses support Hinepango Wetland?
Support doesn't have to be limited to purchasing native plants. Funding specialist contractor hours, weed control, equipment and follow-up work can help prepare more areas for planting, and protect restoration work that has already been completed.
For businesses and organisations looking to make a practical contribution to conservation in
Marlborough, supporting this less-visible stage of restoration can help turn funding into lasting environmental change.
Helping Hinepango's Restoration Continue
The progress at Hinepango shows what is possible when volunteers, conservation organisations, specialist contractors, businesses and funders work towards the same goal.
But restoring a wetland takes more than plants. It takes the difficult work of preparing the land, controlling invasive species and returning to treated areas repeatedly to make sure those gains aren't lost.
For Hinepango, the next stage is about building on what has already been achieved, and ensuring the investment, expertise and thousands of volunteer hours already given to this special Marlborough wetland continue to make a difference.
Businesses, organisations or funders interested in supporting are encouraged to contact: Hinepango Wetland Restoration Group.
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