Meet the people behind Awahuri Forest Kitchener Park in Feilding

Awahuri Forest Kitchener Park contains many fine specimens of kahikatea, totara, rimu, pukatea and kowhai. Photo / Supplied

Awahuri Forest Kitchener Park is significant, being one of the last remnants of semi-swamp podocarp forest in Manawatū and a Crown reserve.

This forest has several natural ox-bow lakes, ever-moving tidal sands, and regularly floods as part of its natural cycle. It is home to a plethora of native trees, fungi, and insects including some very rare species.

While the forest had previously been looked after by groups of volunteers, the site is sensitive and vulnerable to a range of threats including pest weeds, wind exposure, and humans.

The forest is unique in that there are now only eight volunteers - the trustees and advisory trustees, while the maintenance and physical work is taken care of by paid staff to ensure accountability and high-quality care.

Jill is one of the original trustees and has been the chairwoman for three years. Her dream is to have a big education centre on site. She has seen the forest transform from a disaster to its current beauty. Jill has been working to restore some of the 68 species lost since 1928.

Chris has also been with the trust since its inception in 2013. He has been the main driving force behind adding boardwalks, signs, and benches. Chris has had a lot of support from companies and the community, especially through sponsoring the benches.

Mike Stone arrived in Feilding six years ago, after being on the trust of Mt Bruce for 10 years, bringing with him a passion for nature, forests, and spiders. Stone saw a need for education, and noticed the archives were missing or disappearing so has put lots of work into restoring and centralising them.

The support of the advisory trustees is critical to their success. Linley Scammell, a retired specialist project manager, supports all trustees for projects and in particular the new wetland/flood remediation project.

Aaron Madden, a biodiversity specialist at Horizons Regional Council, provides input around all aspects of biodiversity and species within different habitats.

Bruce Kereama and Clinton Vincent are two new trustees from the Kauwhata Jobs for Nature programme.

Bessie Nicholls joined the trust from a career in business and governance. Her biggest focus in the forest currently is eradicating Phragmites karka, a tough battle to fight.

For more information on Awahuri Forest/Kitchener Park visit awahuri-forest-kitchener-park.nz.