Growing jobs
An iwi initiative is leading the way in a former North Island timber town.
When native logging ended in the Whirinaki Forest in the 1980s, Minginui almost died.
Dependent upon forestry jobs, having been built as a timber town in 1946, the small, one-industry town in the
Bay of Plenty slumped when the last sawmilling company pulled out in 1988. Subsequently, the infrastructure collapsed and unemployment was estimated to be 90 per cent.
That was hardly an environment for a new business to thrive, but Minginui Nursery has proved otherwise.
The scene was set in 2009, when the Whirinaki Forest was returned to the Ngāti Whare iwi. Then, in an initiative led by the iwi, Minginui Nursery was established in 2016. Initially, the plan was to produce native trees for reforestation and thereby help meet New Zealand’s Kyoto Protocol requirements through carbon sequestration.
Matt Jackman joined Minginui Nursery at the end of 2018. Involved in horticulture “all my life”, he specialised in the propagation and growing of natives, as well as their use in landscaping. It made him a natural for the role as manager at Minginui.
“The nursery is one of several resources for the region, but the key thing here is really promoting local employment.”
Minginui Nursery has been extremely successful in achieving that aim, now employing 30 people.
“We’ve got staff learning horticulture [through the] production industry training scheme and 11 have completed Level 2 qualifications.”
Even if they leave Minginui, they will have a good grounding that prepares them for work elsewhere.
Now, Minginui Nursery is expanding to meet other demands from, for example, home gardeners.
However, Matt explained that the core part of the business remained: “We’re selling mainly tree species suitable for revegetation.”
In addition, the company was slowly expanding to include shrubs and grasses in its catalogue. Asked what were the most successful introductions, he said Corokia was often chosen for hedging and pittosporums were popular, while miniature toetoe (Chionochloa flavicans) and Carex grasses were also in demand.
Most customers are in the Bay of Plenty, Waikato and Gisborne, but the company has sent plants around the North Island and as far north as Kerikeri.
Matt believes the rising interest in natives can be traced back about 20 years, with New Zealand gardeners developing a maturity in attitude to their own flora.
“Our awareness of our own backyard has increased significantly,” he said.
“I think tōtara is very significant to Māori and it’s very popular around here.”
He is enthusiastic about how schools have helped this process, with children learning about native flora and fauna, as well as the importance of protecting them.
“There’s great knowledge in young kids,” Matt said.
Because Minginui Nursery is iwi-based, Matt is aware of people with a lot of knowledge of the medicinal value of native plants, too. In a changing world, this could have potential for new drugs based on traditional cures.