Country Life: Eco-sourced plants flying out the gate at a Rūnaka-owned nursery

Phil Moeke, a born and bred Southander, feels proud to know his mokopuka will see the result of his work today in 50 to 60 years' time.

As he strolls between two row of kānuka seedlings his hands reach out and connect with the plants.

"Just having a wee touch and saying 'hello, beautiful'," Moeke said. "I just love walking through here and I love the smell of them," he told Country Life.

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Te Kōhaka o Tāne is owned by four Rūnanga; Hokonui (Gore), Te Rūnaka o Awarua (Bluff), Ōraka Aparima (Riverton) and Waihōpai Rūnaka (Invercargill).

Based at a 5-hectare site that used to be managed by the Invercargill City Council, the nursery has five large tunnel houses.

"One is 800 metres square and can hold half a million seedlings. There's also an 1800m2 shade house that can hold up to 250,000 plants," Moeke said.

One of the the biggest restoration initiatives the commercial nursery is working on in is called Project Tohu.

The goal of the the five-year project is to re-cloak and restore Coronet Peak's south facing slopes close to Arrowtown, transitioning them from an ex-Douglas fir plantation into indigenous vegetation.

"Just over half a million mountain beech are going into the side of the hill there. So we're sending those up to Queenstown."

Moeke said the nursery is also supplying lots of kānuka seedlings to Ngāi Tahu Forestry.

"They approached us to grow them and they'll will be going into the ground in April. So 75,000 kānuka back into the whenua."

In the largest shadehouse at the nursery, thousands of beautiful plants are ready to sink their roots into the ground - from carex secta, red tussock, koromiko and mingimingi (that Moeke said is great for attracting birds) to kohuhu pittosporums and evergreen hebes, to name a few.

There are lots of young trees in there too. A cluster of tall mountain beech trees are destined for the restoration project at Coronet Peak.

"We've also got kahikatea, tōtara that we've been growing for a couple of years and kauri, but it takes about three to five years before I can actually chuck them in the ground."

Te Kōhaka o Tāne work closely with Environment Southland, to provide farmers who are working on restoration projects, with natives. It also supplies shrubs, grasses and trees to the Invercargill City Council.

Moeke reckons most of the native plants you see around town come from them.

"At Sandy Point they've cut down all the pines along the riverside there and they're going to plant those up with natives. So anything native, they'll come and see us."

Financially things are going well for the iwi-owned nursery, that sits under the umbrella of Te Tapa o Tāne, a Rūnanga-owned organisation that focuses on education, employment, environmental rehabilitation and business growth.

"We've become a $10 million business and it doesn't feel like we're overrun. Growing trees has jumped from 100,000 to 300,000. We do have partnerships with other nurseries too, that help us out when we get big numbers."

Learn more:

• You can learn more about Te Tapa o Tāne here.