Whilst much of the Mahakirau Forest Estate is near pristine broadleaf/conifer (kauri) QEII covenanted forest, there are some significant areas through the estate where invasive weeds have been allowed to take over. One such neglected area of approximately 1.4 hectares has become overgrown over twenty years or so, with vast thickets of gorse and blackberry blotting the landscape. However, isolated pockets of native bush which include colonisers such as; manuka, kanuka, pate, mahoe, hangehange, pigeonwood, karamu and associated tree ferns survive amongst the weeds.
It was decided sometime in 2022 to commence the restoration of this significant area of land, from a 'scrubland' to a fully functioning 'shrubland', which is generally regarded as the natural succession stage to native forest. North Island shrublands usually comprise fast-growing species as those mentioned above, together with other hardy species such as: mingimingi, kumarahou, akepiro, korokia and native hebes. Also, ground covers such as: sedges and grasses, turutu and ferns. Many of these plants already exist on the estate whilst others will need sourcing from local habitat and propagating in our native plant nursery.