Vandals target native saplings

Ongoing vandalism to a community-led project in Richmond has seen native saplings destroyed, disheartening the volunteers working to regenerate native forest in the area.

The latest victims, two kowhai saplings, have been the target of a concentrated effort - one has been topped, reducing its height from about a metre to about half that, while the other has been twisted clean off at the base, leaving a frayed stump.

This is only the latest incident in a year-long campaign of vandalism against the restoration efforts of local volunteers.

Tasman District Council communications advisor Chris Choat said the vandalism was ‘‘extremely disappointing’’, not just for people who work to restore the area, but for people who enjoy spending time there as well.

‘‘People won’t get to enjoy what [the volunteers] are doing. The end sufferers are not just the people who have spent hours of their own time in there,’’ he said.

The TDC has worked with police and the man driving the restoration, Will Rickerby, to help stop the damage.

Rickerby, who has been working tirelessly over 20 years to clear invasive species and restore native bush in the Richmond foothills, said he first noticed plants going missing ‘‘about a year to 18 months ago’’.

Since he first noticed the vandalism it has been a constant problem, with plants going missing almost as soon as they’re in the ground.

‘‘Ninety-nine point nine per cent of people come up and congratulate us on the work we’re doing, and there’s just the odd person who does something stupid,’’ Rickerby said.

Rickerby’s efforts to maintain the almost forgotten strip of land in the Richmond hills earned him the respect of the community, and a gully of remnant native forest named after him.

‘‘Before, this was all old farmland ... I just started clearing out weeds,’’ he said. Since about 1998, Rickerby has been clearing out old man’s beard, gorse, and banana passionfruit vine.

After the first few years of clearing, Rickerby spoke to the council and got permission to start replanting, and donations of seedlings to get him started.

For the most part, his work is appreciated by runners and walkers, who can use the pathway Rickerby converted from a simple trap-line. But someone is not so happy with the progress.

The most egregious vandalism came when Rickerby tried to move part of the track for safety reasons.

‘‘We planted about 20 plants there. When we came back, they were all ripped up, just tossed aside. So we replanted, and it happened again. We felt like we were just wasting our time, so we left it’’ Rickerby said.

‘‘All of these plants were donated by a private individual, he grows them himself,’’ Piper said.

Rickerby and fellow volunteer Kevin Piper said there had been some trouble in a nearby area when someone started ripping out signposts. The culprit in that case was caught after a security camera caught them in the act and was spoken to by police.

But security cameras are not viable for the Will’s Gully Conservation Volunteers.

‘‘Who’s got the security camera, or the money? Will’s conservation group, you’re looking at it,’’ Piper said.

‘‘It’s all done by volunteers with donations, there’s no money.’’

Rickerby said he had some ‘‘suspicion’’ as to who might be killing the plants, but he didn’t know for sure.

‘‘It’s just discouraging,’’ he said.