Help Restore the Beauty of Nature, After Heartbreaking Loss - Goughs Bay
After dedicating her life to protecting nature a storm has destroyed fencing and beautiful native forest, can you help Marie restore it?
Akaroa, Canterbury
After living though a terrifying storm that devastated the forest and left us with no road access for months, no phone and no driveway, we woke the next morning to find that all of our fencing to protect native forest was destroyed and the beautiful 50 year old forest literally ripped out by it’s roots. https://theseventhgeneration.org/banks-peninsula-storm/
The full main stream of the property was fenced and forested with mature trees. It is now a wide boulder field with steep stream banks. The side streams and forest areas were also fenced and protected to allow for native biodiversity. Approximately half the property was protected native forest. Freshwater ecologists have confirmed there are NO insects left in the main stream.
There are so many ways you can help, please SHARE this page widely, come and help replant the trees, get involved in educational days, or give-a-little. You can contact us on theseventhgenerationnz@gmail.com
Ōkaruru/Goughs Bay was recognised by ECan for it’s high stream values and has a nationally important wetland. After this storm, banded kōkopu and many eels were found dead in the mud. The whole stream system is now at risk.
We have lost 28 fences in total and 9 boundary fences, including two full stream fences and the fences around two forest reserves. A meter of fencing is $30 and a tree with plant guards is $10.
We can set aside more land than we did before and protect more native forest and restore the stream, replanting trees to return the beauty and the birdsong. https://theseventhgeneration.org/terrible-storm/
Marie has spent her lifetime working in conservation and enhancing communities, and is a storyteller inspiring others to be the change in the world. She never thought that this would happen to the land she loves and manages, but instead of giving up hope she wants to make this place better for future generations, better than it was before the storm. https://theseventhgeneration.org/mariehaley/
While nature will heal eventually, it won't without fences to exclude cattle and sheep, and by controlling weeds.
Use of funds
Fencing, native plantings, stream protection
Other page links
Latest update
Campaign Closing 26 October 2022
Thank you everyone who supported us through the heartbreaking storm damage, it has been a crazy year and we are nearly (nearly) through the major repairs, just a few more fences to go (and a whole lot that we will forget about fixing forever).
I’m sorry I haven’t been more in touch, but it has been a whirlwind of a year, it took 5 1/2 months to get a road, and 6 or 7 months to get a working phone line. We have major power line realignments coming in the next few weeks and we hope soon to get a fencer in to help.
We have started planting and with heartfelt thanks to the Akaroa Playcentre and Meridian Energy who have donated plants and turned up to help get them in, it’s not so much about how much is achieved but how much love is shown.
We also have a brand new swimming hole, which is an incredible place to escape to and take time to admire the small natives taking root and hand weed out the gorse and other weeds.
While the amount of damage is still hard to understand, I am far past the grieving for what we lost and all the familiar places of childhood that are gone forever, and am now thrilled at a whole new world to explore without ever having to get in a car.
Spring is also helping, with the vegetable garden flourishing and my house cows giving fresh milk everyday.
While we heal the land, the land heals us. And, I have rediscovered my dream of abundance in nature, beauty for beauty’s sake, joy in the small things.
Latest donations
Thank you so much. It’s so kind of you, and your donation will go a long way to replanting and restoring. I am looking forward to starting the planting soon, currently we are waiting for the road works to finish so that we can safely re-fence and then start planting. Many thanks again, Marie
Melissa! Thank you so much for your donation! We’ve had a big week with our driveway opened and our car back to the garage, the road below us cleared for a quad bike and our cattle finally home. Big milestones and I’m looking forward to the next steps of conservation fencing and starting to plant! Thanks again, Marie
Thanks Mark for your donation, it will be put to good use. Marie
Thanks so much Wendy, we have much work to do, your gift helps so much. Marie
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