No day is the same at McKenzie & Co Queenstown, where the team recently climbed the Ben Lomond track to reach the sponsored McKenzie & Co area, to remove any wilding conifers wilding pines.
This is a Department of Conservation Adopt-a-Plot initiative, and McKenzie & Co have made a commitment to maintain an area on the Ben Lomond track, returning twice yearly to cull any sprouting pines. The Ben Lomond Adopt-a-Plot programme is a community-based adoption project designed as a response to this critical ecological issue that is threatening Ben Lomond and the One Mile Basin.
The Queenstown team loved the opportunity to get outdoors and experience the beauty of their local area, while supporting a worthwhile cause, as the species is highly invasive to the ecosystem in New Zealand’s most treasured destinations. NZ’s number one pest plant, are introduced, self seeded trees growing where they are not wanted. Their seeds blow many kilometres to infest the sensitive Whakatipu alpine landscape while decimating biodiversity.
“We see this as a chance to give pack to our community and the environment,” says Rob Stewart, McKenzie & Co’s Queenstown Regional Manager and Senior Engineer. “By sponsoring this initiative, we’re helping ensure Queenstown’s natural beauty is preserved for future generations, while also getting outdoors ourselves and surveying the natural environment.”
The sponsorship has already supported significant progress. Recent efforts have removed hectares of invasive trees, allowing native flora and fauna to recover. The pines need to be cut by hand, which is a rigorous exercise, but a worthwhile one, and the views from the top are stunning!
