'Better Red than Dead' — Project Crimson's First Decade

Forest and Bird, Issue 299, 1 February 2001, Page 5

'Better Red than Dead' — Project Crimson's First Decade

Crimson.

Project

— Anna Radford,

roject Crimson has made a > measurable difference to the survival of New Zealand’s rata and pohutukawa over the past 10 years, but these species are ‘not out of the woods yet, according to a scientist concerned with the plight of "New Zealand’s Christmas trees’. In the late 1980s, ‘dying twigs’ would have been a better description of these Kiwi icons. Thanks to the Project Crimson Trust set up to protect pohutukawa and rata — and help from thousands of people around the country — the last 10 years have seen an impressive turnaround in the fortunes of these trees. The picture looked bleak when, in 1989, Dr Gordon Hosking surveyed 190 pohutukawa sites in Northland, the Coromandel, Bay of Plenty/East Cape and along Northland’s west coast. He found up to 90 percent of New Zealand’s original pohutukawa had died. The survivors were older trees in poor condition and little regeneration was evident. Concern that pohutukawa might become extinct in some areas led to the Project Crimson Trust being formed in 1990. Its mandate was to protect pohutukawa and, in 1996 its focus widened to include the pohutukawa’s cousins, the tree rata. In late 1999 Gordon Hosking, now a Project Crimson trustee, resurveyed 105 of the original sites researched in 1989. ‘The results were most encouraging with pohutukawa regeneration increasing tenfold in

Northland and similar results found in all other areas surveyed, he says. While Project Crimson’s success in establishing 200,000 new trees over the past decade has played an important part in saving pohutukawa and rata, Gordon Hosking says a combination of factors has made the difference. Importantly, Project Crimson has enjoyed ongoing financial support from its sponsor Carter Holt Harvey. The regional support network provided by its project partner, the Department of Conservation, has proven invaluable in taking the work out to the public. Every year Project Crimson funds pohutukawa and rata protection and research activities, including some Forest and Bird branch projects. Besides tree planting and maintenance it also supports many other projects, such as ground-breaking research at Auckland University which suggests all pohutukawa and rata relatives within the Pacific Rim originated from New Zealand up to 10 million years ago. It has also aided the compilation of a bibliography of pohutukawa and rata; and helped fund possum-control programmes. Last year Project Crimson assisted nearly 80 projects, including several by Forest and Bird members Other highlights include a 2.5kilometre, 9000-volt, solar-pow-ered electric fence stretching across Rakaumangamanga (Cape Brett) that resulted in major regeneration for pohutukawa and other flora in the area. The trust has increased its focus on rata protection and, in

1999, it appointed trustee Philip Simpson as its first South Island co-ordinator, with rata his key concern. While Project Crimson and its supporters have taken huge steps in their journey to protect pohutukawa and rata, Gordon Hosking cautions that the trees are not ‘out of the woods’ yet. ‘New Zealand is at a crossroads because it would very easy to sit back and congratulate ourselves for pulling these trees back from potential extinction in some parts of the country. Yet now, more than ever, the challenge is to avoid complacency and to keep progressing in what will be a continuous journey. Project Crimson is fully committed to the task ahead of us but we can’t do it alone. It’s ultimately up to everyone in New Zealand to make a difference’