An unused glasshouse at the Oamaru Public Gardens has been given a new lease of life in a community venture by the Waitaki branch of Royal Forest and Bird and the Oamaru Natural Heritage Society.
With agreement of the Waitaki District Council, the two groups have transformed it in to a community propagating house with capacity for up to 2000 plants of 50 species.
Already the 64sq m propagating house has about 1000 native plants of 32 different species which are destined for replanting of Oamaru's Cape Wanbrow and other areas, including the Kakanui River, at the popular Clifton Falls swimming hole.
The initial focus has been on renovating and establishing the propagating house, then shifting in plants.
But the plan is to turn it into a community nursery.
The new venture is being co-ordinated by Zuni Steer (Forest and Bird) and Max Crowe (Heritage Society). The propagating house is being run entirely by volunteers.
Grants, donations and using the two organisation's own funds have helped establish the propagating house, but the groups are keen to accept donations of building materials and landscaping supplies to get the nursery operational.
The plants are produced from seeds gathered from native plants around North Otago.
Based on the successful Southland Community Nursery in Otatara, the groups' aim is to have community involvement by offering fully grown, ready-to-plant trees to volunteers in exchange for their labour - ''a sort of tree/time banking system''.
