Sustainability in action at The Springs

An ambitious large-scale planting project in the Wairau Valley aims to return farmland to indigenous forest and create a biodiversity hotspot that is a carbon pool.

Whitehaven Wines’ restoration project is expected to take decades to complete. Once finished, the 720ha property will be a rare example of podocarp forest in the Wairau Valley, filled with endemic species that date back 80 million years.

Whitehaven Wines sustainability manager Josh Barclay says the property will eventually become a carbon sink for the family-owned export company to offset its emissions. However, the project is more than a box-ticking exercise, he says. “Carbon offsetting aside, the primary motivation for this project was to give something back, to create something that will have a lasting impact for the environment and the people in our community.”

The property – The Springs – is about 15km west of the Wairau Valley township and has been used for sheep and beef farming for the past 150 years. Much of the original vegetation would have been burned off for grazing in the 19th century, but a few pockets of wetland, riparian plants and native hardwoods remain.

Spanning from the Wairau plains to 1000m above sea level, the property provided an exciting opportunity to regenerate a “significant wetland” and podocarp forest, while leaving an environmental legacy. Barclay is married to Samantha White, the daughter of Whitehaven founder and co-owner Sue White. Their vision to be responsible members of the community and kaitiaki of the land took on a more personal meaning a couple of years ago with the birth of their son, Arthur. “I fully expect my son to still be planting trees here when he’s my age,” Barclay says.

Whitehaven bought the property in May and Barclay has been working closely with the Marlborough District Council and an ecologist and hydrologist to design a planting plan to restore the wetland.

Work has already begun collecting seeds from the site and neighbouring properties, with between 10,000 and 20,000 plants needed for the wetland alone. The seeds are being taken to Selmes Garden Centre, run by the Selmes Garden Trust, a not-for-profit organisation which aims to provide work opportunities for people with disabilities. They will cultivate seedlings to be planted back in the area they were sourced. “Covid hit Selmes Garden Centre pretty hard,” he says. “This longterm agreement has provided them with some confidence going forward, in terms of being able to employ more people..”

Eco-sourcing the seeds was an important factor in the success of the project, as the plants will be better suited to the conditions and more likely to survive, Barclay says. “Using eco-sourced seeds helps maintain the area’s unique characteristics.” Pests preying on native birdlife and plants are a huge issue and something they are working hard to eliminate before planting begins. A pest control programme targeting pigs and goats is already under way and traplines for wild cats, rats, stoats and possums is also being developed.

Beyond the immediate restoration work planned for the wetland and riparian areas, about 50ha has been set aside for vineyard development. Other areas with early pioneering plants including mānuka and kānuka that have already kickstarted the regeneration process naturally and pockets of hardwood including matai, tōtara and kahikatea will be observed to see if they need any help as they develop.

Whitehaven has been calculating its carbon emissions internally for the past couple of years, while looking at ways to increase efficiencies and decrease its carbon footprint. The company had implemented many positive changes, including a waste reduction policy, planting natives in vineyards to increase biodiversity, and having a more balanced approach to vineyard practices, Barclay says.

While he hopes the regeneration project will be large enough by 2030 to offset all Whitehaven carbon emissions internally, for now the company will mitigate its emissions by investing in verified carbon credit projects.

At the time of writing, Whitehaven was in the final stages of achieving its net carbon-zero certification through Toitū, the climate positive certified organisation, which also facilitates the offset of remaining emissions through verified carbon credits. “As an export company we can’t eliminate all carbon, but we can take responsibility for it,” Barclay says.

JIM TANNOCK Whitehaven Wines sustainability manager Josh Barclay is helping the company to create a carbon sink on its property, offsetting its emissions.