Cyclone Gabrielle: Comvita helping Piha and Hawke’s Bay rebuild

Native seed mix is being turned into patties to assist with improving ravaged hillsides in Piha.

A seaside community ravaged by Cyclone Gabrielle and a honey and health products company have come together to address the village’s challenges in the wake of the storm.

The residents of Piha, west of Auckland, and Comvita, a producer of mānuka-based wellness products, along with Pest Free Piha, Auckland council, and landscape designer and Piha local Xanthe White worked together to produce 600 native seed patties and plant them on slips.

Mānuka’s unique ability to stabilise the land, reduce flooding impacts, and support bee populations aligned seamlessly with the urgent needs of Piha and its residents, Comvita said.

The collaboration would support the pilot restoration of Piha’s compromised hillsides, combining ecological expertise with community engagement.

The seed patties are made up of native seeds, including mānuka, potting mix and clay as a binding agent.

They are embedded into the gaps in the soil and as the soil dries out, the patties become wedged and help to stabilise the ravaged hillsides.

As to whether to use mānuka seed or plants, White said the approach depended on the type of land and the extent of the damage.

“There are some areas where patties are the only method that can be used and on less severe slips, mānuka trees can be planted.

“Mānuka makes root structures that will help heal the slips and bind them together.”

When the land was disrupted, relationships with places were deeply felt, she said.

“With the impact of the cyclone on the West Coast/Piha where my family has had a long connection - we have all felt this strongly.

“As landscapers, we understand the role mānuka can play in this restoration and its importance as an ecological starter.

“It is a symbol of the community’s ability to come together to bring life and balance back to our special places.”

The aim of all involved was to be ecologically responsible, so some plants were used in areas where there was no native forest and the seed patties were used in native surroundings.

They are also looking at trialling wool mulch embedded with native seeds and all the results from the mānuka tree plantings, seed patties and the seed-embedded wool will be documented to assist with other land erosion in the future.

The seed patties are made up of native seeds, including mānuka, potting mix and clay as a binding agent.

At the heart of this initiative is the local community, many of whom are facing a long road to recovery, both physically and emotionally.

Piha residents are being consulted and included throughout the entire process, ensuring their voice is heard.

All of this is a learning experience and the knowledge will be shared when similar disasters happen elsewhere in the country

At the conclusion of the 2023 mānuka planting season and after seeing first-hand the devastating impact that this year’s weather events have caused, Comvita has donated over 40,000 mānuka trees to local farms and schools in the Hawke’s Bay region to help regenerate and heal natural bush.

Tukituki Land Care collaborated with Comvita to help distribute the trees amongst the community.