default-output-block.skip-main
Indigenous

Taupō hapū to revive former native plant nursery

The Department of Conservation has recently signed a management agreement with Te Pae o Waimihia Trust for the former Taupō plant nursery.

Te Pae o Waimihia trustee Dominic Bowden says the plant nursery was set up in the 1960s and for a long time was “part of the fabric here in the community."

In 2012 it was reported that the Taupō Native Plant Nursery was the biggest producer of native plants and seedlings in the country, with more than 2.5 million plants grown each year. However, since the first lock-down, the nursery has never been the same.

“It went into private management and I believe it went into liquidation about 16 months ago, and it’s been sitting idle ever since."

The trust, which comprises representatives from six hapū, says it will be transformed into a centre called He Tipu, a place for growth, of both plants and people.

“It’s still early days. We only just got the keys last week. But we really want to get food in the ground, because we realized with this Covid pandemic that we need supermarkets to survive, and as tangata whenua we shouldn’t have to be in that position.

“So it’s about being self-reliant and self-sustaining.”