Our Way of Life /
North Canterbury’s Jamie McFadden has built his career around nurturing natives
Jamie the throw wild McFadden from and the mighty rocky grew Hurunui shores up on of the River, Gore banks a Bay. stone’s of The braided river winds through a diverse landscape of dry plains and rugged hill country, providing the perfect playground for an adventurous Kiwi kid. It is no surprise then, that Jamie’s path has led him to a career in the great outdoors.
JAMIE MCFADDEN’S MOST TREASURED CHILDHOOD memories were of endlessly exploring the bush-clad gullies of the family farm, and hunting for possums and rabbits amongst the kānuka trees with the help of his loyal dogs Tom and Ben. This time spent immersed in native bush in such a spectacular landscape instilled in Jamie a deep love for the land and its care, a passion for native plants and trees, and a respect for farmers and primary industry.
Hurunui Natives, the plant nursery which Jamie runs with his wife Linda, ticks all the boxes for the North Canterbury couple. Like so many New Zealand small enterprises, the business was developed on a shoestring budget, born of hard work and an abundance of typical Kiwi ingenuity. While working on the family farm, Linda and Jamie began what started as a side hustle in 1996 – a native plant nursery, with plants grown from seeds collected from the pockets of native bush, shrubs and wetlands on the property. Interest from local farmers led this side hustle to develop into a fullyfledged business initially called Acheron Natives, named after the home farm. In 2002, with Jamie’s brother Scott returning home to the farm, Linda and Jamie took the plunge and purchased an eight-hectare property out of Cheviot to develop what is now known as Hurunui Natives.
‘Dad said we could have the posts from the old, abandoned deer trap if we dug them out,’ Jamie explains. ‘Combined with negotiating some half rolls of shade cloth from the manufacturer in Christchurch, we whacked up a temporary shade house which still stands 19 years later.
[We flagged] down the local grader driver to level off the nursery site and truckloads of shingle from the neighbouring transport yard, and we were away.’ An existing shed was utilised, and display gardens were developed to showcase plants on offer.
Seed collection allows Jamie to enjoy the native bush of his childhood. ‘We source seeds for our plants from around the Hurunui District from the coast to the mountains,’ he explains. ‘Most of our seed is collected from the wild, well away from gardens, mainly because of the risk of crosspollination issues with some species. Seed collecting is mainly in the autumn months which ties in nicely with hunting and fishing trips. I have my favourite areas and plants that I collect from. My hat, and occasionally my fishing tackle box, are used to collect seeds, but mostly I carry zip lock bags.’
Farmers throughout the Hurunui, and the Waimakariri and Banks Peninsula, make up the majority of the nursery’s customer base, as farmers look to more sustainable farming practices.
While on-farm native plantings provide the obvious benefit of property beautification, there are the added environmental advantages of erosion control, biodiversity for wildlife and an improvement in water quality as farmers look to create a buffer between farmland and waterways. ‘Most of our plants are grown for projects on farms, where we do the planting,’ explains Jamie. ‘Over the years, we have done a lot
of urban plantings, particularly for houses and commercial developments in Hanmer Springs. However, this has become less. Farm plantings now make up 95 per cent of our work.’
Jamie and Linda’s two children, Patrick (23) and Rosie (21), have inherited their parents’ love for the outdoors and have been hands-on both in the nursery and on-site planting. Rosie now works in the nursery alongside long-term employee Andrea, while Patrick, who shares Jamie’s love of hunting and agriculture, works on a nearby hill country farm. ‘Patrick and I both enjoy fishing and hunting trips, and while he is older now, we still make the time to head off on trips together,’ enthuses Jamie.
‘The guys in our planting team are keen hunters too, and some of our work trips involve throwing the rifles in. I have always been keen on river fishing. No doubt having four kilometres of river boundary with the Hurunui River helped. My favourite fishing rivers are the Hurunui, Waiau and Clarence, particularly through the gorge sections. They are beautiful rivers that are always changing from one flood to the next. Rocky sections, fast-flowing rapids, deep pools – so much character, so many moods – all surrounded by hill country farms with scrub and native bush. Catching fish is not the main objective; just being out there enjoying the environment is number one for me.’
Jamie and Linda continue to farm on a smaller scale, mainly running Wiltshire sheep with a small portion of the property utilised for cropping for hay. ‘Wiltshires are a great option for a lifestyle block with no shearing or crutching needed and low risk of flystrike,’ he explains.
Jamie’s interest in agriculture stretches beyond the farm
gate. As Chair of Rural Advocacy Network (RAN), Jamie is passionate about giving a voice to farmers, particularly around agricultural policy and regulation. Jamie cites a lack of practical understanding by policymakers, creating what he describes as an ‘unwieldy compliance system’.
‘Rural Advocacy Network started one night with a group of Cheviot farmers sitting around a kitchen table. It was felt that we [farmers] had lost our strong, effective voice. Initially, our focus was local issues, but recently we have become more interested in national policies like freshwater, indigenous biodiversity and climate change. A lot of our work has been helping those farmers unfairly hit by regulations and compliance issues – of which unfortunately there are plenty.’
The grassroots organisation has already had major success, instigating the removal of the contentious mapping of Significant Natural Areas on farms, working with Federated Farmers to establish a more positive working relationship with Fish & Game, and successfully challenging Environment Canterbury to remove unfair riverbed line mapping.
‘The biggest challenge, nationally for farmers is our fragmented, complex and cost-prohibitive environmental regulations. Not only is the stress loaded on farmers unsustainable, but the poorly drafted regulations are delivering outcomes that are worse for the environment.
The government climate change policies incentivising farmers to plant pines over valuable native shrublands is a case in point. Having a number of sector-specific advocacy groups at a national level is not delivering a united, effective rural voice. RAN strives for fair and proper processes that empower people to address issues – where there are issues – and deliver on the environmental outcomes we aspire to.’
As Chair of Rural Advocacy Network (RAN), Jamie is passionate about giving a voice to farmers, particularly around agricultural policy and regulation.