Restoring the Health & Wealth of Ecosystems

A Conference on Ecological Restoration in New Zealand
Held in Christchurch, New Zealand, 28-30 September 1998

Index


Disclaimer: Opinions and information presented here are the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of Landcare Research.

Note: All papers are in Acrobat (.pdf) Format

Conference Overview

Richard Gordon
Landcare Research

Health and wealth, the timeless preoccupations of our modern society, are just as applicable to our natural environment as they are to people. They denote concepts of well-being, belonging, richness, diversity and future prosperity. They signify an ability of the ecosystems, of which we are part, to continue to deliver those services that we value: clean water and air, food and fibre, recreation, relaxation and an enjoyment of our natural surroundings.

But in these days of increasing pressure on resources, ecosystem health and wealth have to be worked for. Where they have been diminished, they must be restored. Our conference addressed the meaning of health and wealth in the ecosystems of which people are a part; we looked at how to avoid, mitigate and repair the damage caused by human impact; and we took a look into the future, at what can be achieved in our urban and rural landscapes. We looked both nationally and internationally at how governments, corporations and community groups can and have worked together to secure the health and wealth of local ecosystems.

This conference brought together a wide range of people (about 200 in total) with different roles and interests in maintaining healthy ecosystems with an abundance of life: government policy-makers, Council planners, industrialists and developers, conservation professionals and volunteers, land managers, landscape designers, nurseryfolk, materials suppliers, researchers, educators, and. All stood to benefit from the information which was presented and discussed. All returned home with new ideas about what they can do and new information about what others are doing in this field.

By the end of the conference we had debated in workshops the achievements which the different stakeholder groups desire, and identified the key success criteria for cooperation and delivery of those objectives. We had taken part in a live videoconference with a panel from the annual international conference of the Society for Ecological Restoration, in Texas. And we went into the field to see some real achievements in the making (see the field trip notes and photos). We look forward to revisiting those sites in a future conference.

Otukaikino Reserve Otukaikino Reserve
Otukaikino Reserve
(click images for larger versions)

 

Presented Papers

Note: All papers are in Acrobat (.pdf) Format.

Restoring the health and wealth of ecosystems (keynote presentation) (46KB )
Richard Hobbs, CSIRO Wildlife & Ecology Division, Perth

Restoration and ecology (4KB )
David Norton, University of Canterbury

The role of substrates in ecological restoration (9KB )
Craig Ross, Robyn Simcock, and Paul Gregg, Landcare Research

Restoration of ecological communities on New Zealand farmland (4KB)
Steve Wratten, Lincoln University, and Vaughan Keesing, Boffa Miskell

Restoration for vertebrates (49KB )
Mick Clout and John Craig, University of Auckland

People, nature and restoration (4KB )
Alastair Gunn, Waikato University

Urban restoration: Social opportunities and barriers (32KB )
Margaret Kilvington, Landcare Research, and Jo Rosier, Massey University

Development of regional frameworks for restoration (27KB )
Penny Doorman, Environment Bay of Plenty

Urban restoration: perspectives from Australia and the US (5KB )
Mark McDonnell, Centre for Urban Ecology, Melbourne

Mainland islands: restoration at larger scales (21KB )
Alan Saunders, Department of Conservation

Prospects for a New Zealand-Aotearoa cultural landscape (4KB )
Colin Meurk, Landcare Research, and Simon Swaffield, Lincoln University

Workshops

WORKSHOP 1: What do we want to achieve through ecological restoration?
Panel: Mark Bellingham, Bill Karaitiana, David Given, Carol West, Pam Richardson, Shona Myers, David Penman (chair)

WORKSHOP 2: Success factors in achieving our goals
Panel: Phil Simpson, Hugh Wilson, Ken Mason, Di Lucas, Brenda Greene, Richard Gordon (chair)

Notes from the Workshops (17KB )

Posters - text only (alphabetical order)

Conservation covenants: Protecting and restoring waterways and wetlands (4KB )
Rachel Barker, Kim Morland, Jeanine Keller

Revegetation of sand dunes using Spinifex -- Latest research developments (PDF not available)
David Bergin & Fiona Ede

Invertebrate colonisation of restoration plantings in Christchurch (7KB )
Angela Cone, Richard Gordon, Chris Frampton, Vaughan Keesing, Rod McFarlane

Resource information, Environment Waikato (5KB )
Karen Denyer

Coastal dune vegetation network -- Partnership in action (7KB )
Fiona Ede, David Bergin, Harley Spence

Cannon Hill residential subdivision/restoration development project -- A developer's perspective & vision (6KB )
Craig Findlay with Colin Meurk

Ecosourcing seed in urban Auckland (6KB )
Leslie Haines

Impact of invasive weeds on forest ecosystems (5KB )
Richard Harris, Peter A. Williams, Richard Toft, Rachel Standish, Brian Karl

Phormium-flax for weaving and papermaking (4KB )
Warwick Harris, Sue Scheele, Jude Graveson

Maanawa wetland project. Waitakere City (4KB )
Brendan Hoare

Coast care in Christchurch (6KB )
Kay Holder

Preventative control of the pest plant Manchurian wild rice (Zizania latifolia) in a wetland habitat -- A case study from the Wellington region. (PDF not available)
Murray Hudson

Conservation of regionally significant native forest (key native ecosystems) within the Wellington region. (PDF not available)
Murray Hudson

Riparian restoration near you; Avon River, Little Hagley Park (3KB )
Mei Hurrell, Simon Hepplethwaite, Colin D. Meurk

Self-maintaining wildlife habitat restoration maintenance in an urban environment (3KB )
Simon Johnson

A case study of integrating protection, production and restoration expressed through Maori traditional values (14KB )
William M. K. Karaitiana

Holistic management for improving biodiversity (8KB )
John King

Rehabilitation of native forest after mining in Westland (5KB )
E.R. (Lisa) Langer, Murray R. Davis, Craig W. Ross

Urban insect restoration : Status, questions and possible methods (6KB )
R.P. Macfarlane

Some Dunedin advances in ecological restoration (6KB )
Ken Mason

Riparian restoration year you! Carlton Mill in Hagley Park, Christchurch (16KB )
Colin Meurk, Simon Heppelthwaite, Mei Hurrell

Plantfinder, an electronic decision support tool to guide plant selection for revegetation in New Zealand (PDF not available)
Colin D. Meurk, Paul Luckman, Mark Smale, X. Chandrikar

Repellents for controlling herbivore browse (4KB )
David R. Morgan, Anthony D. Woolhouse

Restoration of podocarp forest remnants on South Canterbury plains (3KB )
Fraser Ross, Ines Stager, David Musgrave

Ecological success of native forest restoration on artificial surfaces at Aratiatia, central North Island, New Zealand (5KB )
Mark Smale, Paul N. Smale, Patrick T. Whaley

Communities, management, and science forming successful ecological restoration partnerships -- Experience from the Environment Waikato "Beach Care" programme (6KB )
Harley Spence, David Bergin, Fiona Ede, Jim Dahm

Experimental restoration of a weed-affected forest remnant (4KB )
Rachel J. Standish and Alastair W. Robertson

Citizen-led environment management: Learning from the bush restorers (PDF not available)
Rhys Taylor

Island restoration ecology, Breaksea Sound, Fiordland (6KB )
Bruce Thomas

Restoration management of a planted podocarp/hardwood forest, Travis Wetland, Christchurch (6KB _
S.C. Urlich, C.D. Meurk, S.P. Johnson, M.D. Oliver, S.F. Gulland, F.A. Carmichael, D. Evans, L.J. Hassall

Hinewai Reserve -- A decade of restoration (PDF not available)
Hugh Wilson

Field Trip Notes and Photos

Field excursion notes (13KB ) from the symposium "Restoring the health and wealth of ecosystems"

Photos from the Field Trip

Related Links

Conference Co-sponsors