Clyde Railhead Community Eco-Nursery

29/05/2026

We kicked off planting season with some students from Clyde Primary school on Monday.

This is the fourth year of adding natives to the banks of the Mata-au/Clutha River at Miners Lane. Another 83 natives went in, and we have our fingers crossed that this time the river levels will stay within the normal fluctuation levels until they get their roots into the ground at least.

Thanks to Contact Energy for funding the Haehaeata eco sourced and grown plants. Thanks also to Fulton Hogan, they have donated staff to help us control the flourishing blackberry amongst other nasties and to Weka for donating some compost.

See you next year, Clyde Primary School and for everyone else come join us next Saturday when we add 300 plants into the Half Mile Reserve!

18/05/2026

Our favourite time of the year is fast approaching. PLANTING SEASON!

The culmination of two to five years of our nursery volunteers care and attention.

We have 1,000 plants to go into the ground in a couple of locations on the Half Mile Reserve and will be holding four planting days over the next four months.
Saturday, 6th of June, 1 to 3:30pm
Sunday, 5th of July, 1 to 3:30pm
Saturday, 1st of August, 1 to 3:30pm
Sunday, 30th of August, 1 to 3:30pm (if needed)

So hopefully there will be a date or four that will suit you to join us. Many hands make light work and we know that 1,000 plants is a big undertaking.

If the weekends don't suit you but you would like to be involved, then you could potentially join our hole digging team that will be working in the weeks before to make the holes with our wonderful electric auger.

Please RSVP using this form. It does not commit you to attending but helps us hugely with logistics and keeps you in the loop if things change. Eg. weather related postponements.

Saturdays and Sundays this winter, from 1:00pm to about 3:30pm The sites have been cleared and there are good moisture levels, so STAGE FOUR is about to commence. We were very gratified to see the community interest in the Stages One, Two and Three and we are hoping the momentum will continue. We ha...

10/05/2026

This Thursday THERE IS NO NURSERY SESSION

INSTEAD, WE ARE MONITORING AT FLAT TOP HILL CONSERVATION AREA FROM 12:30 TO 3:30pm.

No experience necessary.

BRING YOUR ENTHUSIASM, WILLINGNESS TO LEARN AND YOUR FAVOURITE GARDENING GLOVES.

WE CAN SUPPLY TRAINING, GREAT COMPANY AND AFTERNOON TEA!

There is also an option for car pooling.

Please use the form to RSVP. That way we can get all the info needed to you as well as any weather related postponements -although the forecast is looking really good at this stage.

Thursday the 7th of May, from 12:30 to 3:30pm

08/05/2026

Hot off the press is our latest newsletter. If you have already signed up, check your junk emails (even though it isn't) if it is not in your inbox.
Otherwise sign up now and learn about Pelargonium inodorum and when you can join us for our planting days.
https://forms.gle/aSmWRedfWXUG5p8p8

03/05/2026

This Thursday there will be no nursery session. Instead, we will be heading out to Flat Top Hill Conservation area and doing some project monitoring. This is where we wander round our planting sites checking off all the survivors. This information is important for informing our future planting projects and providing funders with evidence of what we do works.

Come join us, no experience needed and afternoon tea provided. We will be there from 12:30 to 3:30 and there is the opportunity for carpooling.

Please complete this form if you are even slightly interested in helping us. That way we can give you all the details (including how to get there) and let you know if we have to postpone because of weather.

Thursday the 7th of May, from 12:30 to 3:30pm

01/05/2026

Thanks very much to Casey, Hannah, Stellar, Olivia, Nate and Riley. Students from Dunstan High School who undertook plant monitoring at our Half Mile Reserve planting yesterday. In the next month the numbers will be crunched and our project success rate known. At this stage it is looking like another great year. Some growth rates up their have been fantastic. Thanks also Tyler, Nigel and Shane for making this session possible

26/04/2026

Thank you to all who came along on Thursday morning for our 'almost desert' native planting day for Conservation week. It was a beautiful morning and we managed with no problem at all to plant 123 plants in one and a half hours.

For those of you hard at work during the week, never fear we have three or four weekend planting days coming up. There are still a few things to finalise but the dates will be released soon.....

Thanks to Rachel Stanton from Doc for the action shot.

20/04/2026

'ALMOST' DESERT SPECIES PLANTING DAY
Korimako Corner, 16 Springvale Road, CLYDE

Thursday 23 April, 10:00am – 12:00pm

This event is part of Conservation Week 2026 - www.doc.govt.nz/conservationweek

We are planting a variety of native plants from the special inland cushion field species (the 'almost' desert species mentioned earlier) to the forest enjoying inkberry.

If planting is not your thing and pushing a wheelbarrow is, then you could help move gravel along our under-construction pathway.

There could even be a spot of weeding if that is your passion!

Contact us at [email protected] if you have any questions. Otherwise just come along with enthusiasm and gardening gloves. If you don't have any gloves we can provide.

23/03/2026

What a lovely evening it was to be out last night. Thank you so much to the enthusiastic crew that helped us tackle the grass jungle! It may not have seemed like it but great progress was made.

That was our last evening maintenance session for the season as day light savings finishes next weekend.

Big thanks to all those who could make it this year. We appreciate you giving us your precious time. Plant maintenance is a tough gig to get people interested in but it really does make or break a native restoration project.

19/03/2026

Come join us on Monday evening! The forecast is looking fantastic for our last Chop n Chat session for the season.

We are out to Flat Top Hill Conservation area for a bit of grass slashing. We have some fantastic Niwashi tools for the job so all you need to bring are gardening gloves, long sleeves and trousers and a warm layer. Gumboots could be a good idea for the feet.

What is in it for you? Refreshments afterwards, some great company and a lovely spot to spend a couple of hours.

We hope to see you there. Monday the 23rd of March 6pm to 7:30pm. Please RSVP here before 3pm on Monday so you can get directions and we have an idea of numbers. https://forms.gle/AMxuJjo1JjEQfREL9