Arrowtown Village Association

The Arrowtown Choppers are a community led organisation who are part of the wider Arrowtown Wilding Group (sub-group within Arrowtown Village Association). We aim to rid Arrowtown of wilding pines and stop their spread into the much-loved tussock covered back-country. We are a dedicated bunch of volunteers who meet up on Wednesdays during the warmer months to head into Arrowtown’s back-country and chop down invasive conifers.

Over the past three years the group has cleared over 60 acres of wilding pines and this season alone we have donated over 400 hours of time. Through this effort thousands of native grasses and shrubs have been saved from the smothering effects of wilding pines. People who regularly walk Sawpit Gully will have seen the huge amount of progress the Choppers have made this season, and this work continues to gain momentum.

The Arrowtown Choppers have started work to revegetate Tobins Face by running a trial through the reintroduction of a mix of locally sourced native plants for biodiversity and selected non-spreading exotic trees to enhance Arrowtown’s brilliant autumn colours.

This trial allows us to understand that we are planting the right trees in the right place at the right time, which is an important step towards Phase 2 of the Arrowtown Wilding Strategy.

On Tuesday 23 April, over 60 keen volunteers gave up their time to plant 520 native seedlings on Tobins Face. The Arrowtown Choppers were delighted to see the turnout and we see this as confirmation that the community is supportive of the trial that the Choppers have undertaken.

The second step in this trial is to plant 300-400 non-spreading exotic trees in Spring. These will further enhance Arrowtown’s brilliant autumn colours and ensure the wilding spread doesn’t fill Tobins Face, keeping these Autumn colours for many years to come.

As always, these initiatives need all the support they can get, so we appreciate any support you can provide.

Thank you for your support