Farming couple have a passion for biodiversity

When Trevor and Heather Taege bought their Kowai Bush farm, Tobyhill, six years ago, they decided to protect the remnants of native bush. Photo / Supplied

If anyone is passionate about protecting biodiversity it is Trevor and Heather Taege.

Drop into their Kowai Bush sheep and beef farm, nestled behind Springfield, and you'll be blown away by what this farming couple has achieved in just six years.

Remnant pockets of native bush and wetland are now protected on Tobyhill - fenced off and replanted - creating havens for birdlife, insects and flora on this idyllic property overlooking the Waimakariri River. It's been a labour of love for the pair who say protecting native bush is their hobby.

When they bought Tobyhill as an addition to their original farm Korimako, the couple saw the natives as an advantage. While some farmers may have cleared the bush, Mr Taege said they chose to work with it.

For many years, the Taeges ran stock through the property and over time noticed the effect the animals were having.

"We could see the decline in the bush with stock in it," Mr Taege said.

"So we fenced off one block in the 1980s. Then when I semi-retired we thought we could do something. It was either that or lose it."

That something took the form of applying to a district council biodiversity fund to subsidise additional fencing. An ecological survey confirmed 52 native species present on the property.

"That was more than we thought there would be. It was exciting, very, very encouraging," Mr Taege said.

He believed protecting existing remnants of native bush had higher ecological value than planting areas from scratch.

"We had all the big, tall trees here to start with so we're regenerating native bush that was already here," he said.

"I feel areas like ours are more worthy of subsidy than new bush pockets because we have the potential to lose it and this area would have been all bush. It's more important to retain what is there than just plant in the middle of a paddock."

Additional funding has come from Environment Canterbury and recognition of their efforts from the Dianna Isaac Cup, an award they received for outstanding efforts to weave native plants into the working land of Selwyn.

Now the couple have decided it's time to slow down as the maintenance needs of the blocks keep them busy enough.

Mrs Taege said the next generation could do more planting if they wanted.

Still there is plenty to admire, and walking around with Mr and Mrs Taege is like being taken on a botanical tour as they reel off species names and check on their tree's progress; beech, matai, cabbage tree, totara, kanuka, lancewood and broadleaf some of the more dominant ones. Then there are the curiously named five fingers, wineberries, whitey wood and little green clematis.

Mr Taege said there would be a lot of regeneration going on in the next 10 years.

"You'll barely be able to put your foot down in here," he said.

"We've learnt a tremendous amount. It's like a hobby. Some people go to bowls, we go down to the bush. It's really nice on a good day to walk through the beech trees with the smell, it's just magic."