Craigieburn Basin Restoration Trust May 2026 Newsletter
Feel the Burn
Feel the Burn was a fantastic success — and the feedback from everyone who took part was overwhelmingly positive. We had 320 runners on the day, with cool but dry conditions that turned out to be just about perfect for the event. The course was tough but well received, the atmosphere was upbeat and community focused, and we are delighted to report no incidents or accidents on the day.
Most importantly, the event raised over $36,000 — a huge result. This money will go directly to operational costs, helping to ensure the Trust continues to develop and deliver on its goals.
The media coverage was excellent. Seven Sharp came along and ran a well-balanced piece giving good background to the story behind the Trust and positive coverage of the event itself — a great asset for us going forward. We also had a professional photographer on the day who captured some stunning images and produced a hero video along with a number of short clips for ongoing media use.
The number one piece of feedback? When is next year's event? The answer is — it's already in planning for the 30th Jan 2027. We learnt a huge amount from this year, and we are in a much better position for next time. We plan to run Feel the Burn as an annual event, and with everything we now know and the profile we have built, we expect it to be bigger and better again.
Seed Collection, Propagation and Revegetation
One of the most exciting workstreams now underway is our seed collection and revegetation programme. The plan centres on establishing a network of small, intensively planted and protected nodes across the front face of Helicopter Hill. Each node is a 10x10 metre area planted and seeded with eco-sourced native species. Rather than trying to plant the entire hillside at once, the nodes act as seed sources — once established, natural seed fall progressively expands regeneration outward across the landscape. It's a smarter and significantly more cost-effective approach than blanket planting.
Seed collection is already in motion, with kanuka, manuka, hebe, and other target species being collected from natural sources within and close to the project area to ensure local genetic provenance. Collected seed will be stored and used to supply our propagation programme year on year.
A demonstration plot is also planned — a publicly accessible, fully fenced site close to the pilot trial area where volunteers, schools, and visitors can come and see the restoration vision in action, with interpretive signage explaining the programme and the species involved.
The active pilot trial underway in the burn area is being regularly monitored. We are testing different approaches to plant establishment and generating the site-specific data we need to inform the broader programme. Lincoln University students are involved in assessing and writing up the trial results.
Planning Day
On 30 March we held a Trust planning day which was well attended and had a great energy about it. The day covered where we are at, funding updates, and a Feel the Burn debrief, before breaking into working groups to develop initial plans for three key workstreams — seed and revegetation, weeds, and communications, education and outreach. It was a valuable chance to get some real planning done together and good momentum came out of it. Further workstreams including marketing and promotion will be developed as we progress through the year. Thank you to everyone who came along to support our planning.
Funding Update
The first round of the Selwyn Natural Environment funding has been received for the Ecological Vision work is underway, We have also been notified that our application to Transpower has been approved so this fund will be allocated to this seasons weed control. We have also secured a commitment from NZTA to undertake weed work within the burn area road corridor, plus up to $15,000 in tangible costs for additional weed and revegetation work. This is a significant boost and will allow us to make real progress on the ground this year.
We are also thrilled to announce a successful application to the Tūpiki Trust, who have granted $11,000 to build and set up a native nursery shade house at Flock Hill, alongside the existing Flock Hill nursery. The location makes a lot of sense — the infrastructure is already in place and it makes day-to-day management, particularly watering, far more efficient. The goal is to grow out as many eco-sourced native plants as possible for planting across the basin. We plan to involve volunteers and schools in the propagation process, connecting people to the revegetation work in a very hands-on and meaningful way. We plan to have the shade house built this winter and ready for growing come spring.
We had the opportunity to present to a personal donor in April, pitching the Trust's vision and work — this resulted in a very generously donation of $33,000 to the Trust. This is an incredibly meaningful contribution and reflects the kind of community support that makes what we are doing possible.
Funding Pipeline
Alongside the grants already mentioned, the Trust has been actively building a strong funding pipeline for the year ahead. Applications are in or planned across a wide range of funders.
ANZ Staff Foundation, the Rata Foundation for operating costs, the Lottery Environment and Heritage Fund for baseline data collection, and the WWF Community Conservation Fund which we are targeting once we have a strong conservation and education proposal ready.
Longer term we are also exploring Trees That Count for native tree planting at landscape scale, Predator Free NZ for trapping support, and biodiversity credit schemes as an emerging funding stream.
The funding landscape is competitive but the Trust is well positioned with a clear vision, credible projects, and a growing track record of delivery. We will keep you updated as outcomes come through.
