Why do we need conservation in New Zealand?
We love nature and the New Zealand wildlife, so we wanted to do our part for conservation from day one. Archery Park is situated on an old farming location. Back in the days they used all sorts of natural hedging to keep the cattle from breaking out. This is actually an environmental friendly idea, the stuff gives protection to all sorts of wildlife and you just need a trimmer to keep your fencing in shape . Unfortunately this stuff is thriving just too well in New Zealand as it was imported from cooler Europe into our moderate climate. Gorse and Hawthorn have taken off madly and they are suppressing our native plant life and shrinking the habitat of our natural wildlife. And it’s full of nasty thorns and spikes, with no animals around that wood keep it down. On top of that come nasty and fast growing vines like Old Man’s Beard that overgrow trees and slowly kill them.
Conservation efforts at Archery Park
At Archery Park we have made it our responsibility to re-establish our small section of nature to former glory. Whenever we cut tracks, move target locations around or do general maintenance we will look to reduce the amount of foreign plant life, remove non-native weeds and give our natives space. This will be a very long-term project.
When you come for a visit you will notice lots of plants that are wearing an orange marker. These are the guys we want to see thriving, even if this means we need to build a more complex track. And they are already taking off, loving the light and space we’re providing.
We are not far from the Nelson Sanctuary, so bird life is kicking off in our little valley. To do our part we have started a trapping programme to give them a better chance of survival. The Fantails are thanking us already and are swirling around at every visit.
And to top it off we have started baiting for wasps, as they love the nectar and eat all the insects that our birds need. It’s also a big safety contribution – because we really should be the only ones that carry sharp objects around and stick them into things.
