Project Updates
January 2024
We are thrilled to share some fantastic news and important updates from McNulty Inlet. Our commitment to environmental restoration and community engagement continues to flourish, thanks to your unwavering support and the dedication of our team.
Firstly, we are delighted to report that McNulty Inlet is now home to over 10,000 thriving plants with remarkably high survival rates. This achievement is a testament to the hard work, care, and attention to detail that our team has put into this project. Together, we are rejuvenating and preserving this natural gem for generations to come.
Towards the end of last year, we bid a fond farewell to Megan Phillips, who served as our Community Coordinator. Megan has played a pivotal role in the Lake Dunstan Conservation Trust (LDCT), and we are incredibly grateful for her tireless efforts and dedication. She has now embarked on a new journey with the Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC), and we wish her all the best in her new role.
With just six months of funding remaining, Duncan Faulkner has taken on the dual responsibilities of Project Manager and Community Coordinator. Duncan's dedication to health and safety, securing future funding, and overseeing the upcoming planting and restoration project is invaluable to the LDCT's continued success. We are fortunate to have Duncan's expertise guiding us through this transitional period.
We are thrilled to announce our next location for planting and restoration efforts: the area between Deadman's Bridge and 600 meters north of the boat club. This project will have a special focus on enhancing recreational opportunities, ensuring that McNulty Inlet remains a cherished destination for the entire community.
To bring this exciting project to life, we have reached out to three local landscape companies, inviting them to submit quotes for the upcoming work. Collaborating with these experts will help us ensure the successful restoration and recreation-focused development of this area.
Firstly, we are delighted to report that McNulty Inlet is now home to over 10,000 thriving plants with remarkably high survival rates. This achievement is a testament to the hard work, care, and attention to detail that our team has put into this project. Together, we are rejuvenating and preserving this natural gem for generations to come.
Towards the end of last year, we bid a fond farewell to Megan Phillips, who served as our Community Coordinator. Megan has played a pivotal role in the Lake Dunstan Conservation Trust (LDCT), and we are incredibly grateful for her tireless efforts and dedication. She has now embarked on a new journey with the Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC), and we wish her all the best in her new role.
With just six months of funding remaining, Duncan Faulkner has taken on the dual responsibilities of Project Manager and Community Coordinator. Duncan's dedication to health and safety, securing future funding, and overseeing the upcoming planting and restoration project is invaluable to the LDCT's continued success. We are fortunate to have Duncan's expertise guiding us through this transitional period.
We are thrilled to announce our next location for planting and restoration efforts: the area between Deadman's Bridge and 600 meters north of the boat club. This project will have a special focus on enhancing recreational opportunities, ensuring that McNulty Inlet remains a cherished destination for the entire community.
To bring this exciting project to life, we have reached out to three local landscape companies, inviting them to submit quotes for the upcoming work. Collaborating with these experts will help us ensure the successful restoration and recreation-focused development of this area.
August 2023
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We have been busy this month planning the remaining 10 months of funding from Jobs for Nature to deliver the remaining objectives of the project. We have been working hard to deliver as much positive impact on the lake and ensure our plants thrive in the coming years.
We have also been looking ahead to future areas and actions we would like to see along the lake to continue the momentum of the first stage of the Bridge to Bridge project. We have a survey running until 22nd September where the community can help us establish which areas people would most like to see improved. Head to our main page for the link. |
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July 2023
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We have now entered the final year of the project and are now looking to complete the McNulty Inlet planting site and secure funding for a few more years of maintenance.
We are also looking at the next potential site to develop to continue the momentum to see our shoreline improved to make it a safer and healthier space to support wildlife and recreation. We now have 9 species on site and the images to the left help explain how to identify them, how they grow and what benefits they have to wildlife and the environment. |
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June 2023
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Winter arrived very suddenly this year, with snow, frost and fog kicking in early June! As a result, the planned autumn planting will now be undertaken in early spring. By then the fencing should be inplace and guards can be removed to let the plants spread their branches!
Since the initial planting at McNulty Inlet in October 2022, Corrections NZ has been actively collaborating with Te Tapu o Tāne to maintain the site. As we take a pause during winter, it's an excellent opportunity to reflect and express our heartfelt appreciation for the remarkable achievements of all those who have contributed to keeping the site weed-free and nurturing the plants, allowing them to thrive in their magnificence! |
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May 2023
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May marks 8 months since the planting in McNulty Inlet. These before and after photos show the true scale of what has been achieved so far and how much the site has transformed.
The plants are continuing to thrive in the new conditions and they are bursting out of the guards after impressive growth over summer and autumn. Once rabbit and weed infested, it is now covered in thousands of tussock, ribbonwood, Kohuhu, kōwhai, kānuka, Mānuka, harakeke, and koromiko. Some are already flowering and providing food for our wildlife, and it won't be long until the rest do too! |
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April 2023
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In April Cromwell youth Trust helped us plant 300 more plants at McNulty Inlet to add to the thriving ecosystem being created!
Corrections also continued to help us manage the weeds and monitor plant health. |
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March 2023
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March's focus was on continuing the maintenance of the site with corrections and Te Tapu o Tāne working hard to keep the site healthy and thriving.
This month we also submitted an funding application for a 5km trapline along a section of the sohreline to help control possums, mustelids and rodents. As these plants grow and attract wildlife, both will become more of a target for these pest species. We are looking forward to hearing of the outcome of the application and will keep the community informed of the project progress and how the can help once the trapline is established. |
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February 2023
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The Te Tapu o Tāne crew finished clearing the entire 1.2 ha sight of weeds that had grown over the summer to give our natives space to grow without competition for water, nutrients and space.
This was a massive task and we thank them for their hard mahi to hand-weed the entire site. We also want to that the CODC and transfer station for allowing us to dispose of the weeds. Despite one of the driest summers in record, the amazing irrigation installed by TToT, Waterforce and Fulton Hogan has allowed our plants to establish and survive the intense Central Otago sun! Corrections has also restarted their weekly community work on this project, and we thank them for supporting our efforts to restore te taiao. |
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January 2023
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After a beautifully hot (and dry) Christmas break, the work gone into providing the best conditions for our plants to establish has been worth it! Plants are thriving and already looking to burst out of their plant guards with so much growth over the last few months!
With better conditions for native plants come better conditions for weeds. During January the crew returned to start weeding the site and had a helping hand from the Cromwell Youth Trust to remove exotic species competing for nutrients, space and water with our natives. |
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December 2022
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Summer = irrigation!
With one of the hottest summers on record on its way, hundreds of metres of irrigation were needed to ensure the plant's survival over the hot, dry summer! A big thank you to CODC and ORC for working with us to get the water supply sorted and Fulton Hogan for plumbing in the connection. The team at Workforce Cromwell worked with the TToT crew to site prep and lay hundreds of metres around each plant on site. |
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November 2022
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This month the crew finished spreading over 1,200 cubic metres of mulch over the site which was a huge job! Due to the layout of the site, much of it had to be carried up the hill so a huge thanks to their hard mahi.
Once the mulch was done, the crew commenced clearing lupins along the shoreline to improve access. The skilled crew are making great progress and the shoreline is looking heaps better. Corrections are also helping us this month to clear the weeds and site maintenance. Also this month. TToT crew helped weed the Cromwell Primary Site from May to help suppress grass that can compete with the saplings. The plants have adapted well over winter and thriving! |
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October 2022
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What's next for McNulty Inlet?
Over the coming weeks, the crew will be finalising the project ready for growth in summer. With any planting project, whether in a dry Central Otago site such as McNulty Inlet or your own back garden, some losses are expected. To combat this, further topsoil, mulch, water crystals, a high-quality irrigation system, and rabbit fencing are being installed. A new and improved footpath will also be created to allow the community to visit, explore and enjoy the newly established habitat and wildlife it will attract. Separate from this, weed clearing will also be undertaken between Deadman’s Bridge and Lowburn Bridge. On Saturday 8th & Sunday 9th October 2022, we partnered with Te Tapu o Tāne - Growing Trees & Communities and Trees That Count to deliver the largest community planting event ever seen in Cromwell. Over 200 people from the local community and businesses came together to plant 10,000 native trees & shrubs to increase local biodiversity and community well-being.
Video by Tuatahi Creatives |
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September 2022
Preparations began for our first planting next month in McNulty inlet. Through partnering with Te Tapu o Tāne and Trees that Count we are holding an amazing community planting weekend where 10,000 native trees and shrubs will be planted on the hillside to reintroduce wildlife to the barren site.
We also held Lake Dunstan's 12th Annual lakeside clean up with the help of passionate community groups and residents
July 2022
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Bridge to Bridge Landscape Plan unveiled
Created by Rough & Milne, Wanaka 
Lake Dunstan Community Visioning Report 2022 unveiled
Created by Shaping our Future
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May 2022
We undertake our first planting along Lake Dunstan with the help of Cromwell Primary students and many amazing local businesses
March 2022
February 2022
The trust advertised tender to deliver the project to a local contractor, company, organisation etc and interviewed applicants.
January 2022
Our Landscape plan for the project is finalised and signed off by our trustees. Nest step is to present to stakeholders and interested parties and receive feedback and assistance.
November 2022
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Our staff attended the NMIT Trapping method course to learn about the best methods to trap mustelids, rats and hedgehogs along Lake Dunstan to protect our birds, lizards and invertebrates.
We look forward to installing traps next year and working with the community to create extensive traplines around Cromwell. |
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October 2021
This month we were busy working with local ecologists to investigate our site and create effective plans to achieve the most successful outcomes, connected with nurseries on large planting orders, meeting with Richard Lord on the ORC's future plans for rabbit control in Central Otago and continued to develop our landscape plan with Rough & Milne.
Nationally vulnerable Banded Dotterels and Australasian Crested Grebes discovered nesting in McNulty inlet
Exciting news: CODC Cromwell Community Board grant funding for a community tool shed to help groups undertake projects to improve local wildlife and recreational areas
September 2021
Duncan Faulkner was replaced as Project Manager and returns to the role of chairperson for the trust
Duncan temporarily stepped down as chairperson to kick start the project's health and safety accreditations and get planning underway until a suitable project manager could be contracted. During this time, Werner Murray was chairperson.
Duncan temporarily stepped down as chairperson to kick start the project's health and safety accreditations and get planning underway until a suitable project manager could be contracted. During this time, Werner Murray was chairperson.
Looking for Maintenance person and planting team
11th Annual Lakeside clean up a big success
May 2021
Rough & Milne chosen as the project's architects
First project meeting with our architects
Introducing our Community Engagement Coordinator, Megan Phillips
April 2021
Choosing the location
The shoreline between Deadman’s bridge and Lowburn bridge was chosen as it is a high-use area that desperately needs restoration of both its recreational use and biodiversity. This section of Lake Dunstan is important for swimming, boating and families; especially in the summer months. It has seen much soil degradation and ecosystem loss due to rabbits, poor management and weeds.
The shoreline between Deadman’s bridge and Lowburn bridge was chosen as it is a high-use area that desperately needs restoration of both its recreational use and biodiversity. This section of Lake Dunstan is important for swimming, boating and families; especially in the summer months. It has seen much soil degradation and ecosystem loss due to rabbits, poor management and weeds.
