At Restore Native, planting trees is only part of the story. The real success of a project comes from the groundwork — the thinking, planning, and care that happens before and after planting day.
We’re helping farmers and landowners look beyond this season — using drone mapping, detailed site plans, and long-term strategies that set projects up to thrive for the next five to ten years.
See the bigger picture with drone mapping
Drone mapping gives a clear, high-level view of your property, helping identify erosion-prone areas, waterways, and the best planting zones. From there, we develop a staged plan that fits your land, goals, and budget — whether that’s one block or a multi-year programme.
Get funding-ready
There’s more support out there than you might think. Across New Zealand, regional councils, national planting programmes, and dairy industry sustainability initiatives all offer co-funding to help bring native projects to life.
We’ll help you tap into those opportunities — by preparing the plans, quotes, and supporting details funders look for, and connecting you with the right partners when your project is ready to go.
Our goal is simple: to make funding easier to access and your project smarter, stronger, and more sustainable — delivering real environmental and financial value for years to come.
Case study: Restoring a Gully at Maungatautari – 60,000 trees and a growing future
Every restoration project tells a story — of the land, the people who care for it, and the species that will return as the forest grows. One of our recent projects near Maungatautari shows just how powerful that story can be — and how much difference careful planning makes.
When we first visited this gully, it was dominated by gorse. The landowners had a clear vision: to return it to native bush and create a thriving habitat that would connect back into the wider Maungatautari landscape.
Together, we developed a detailed plan to give the site the best possible start. That meant mapping the area, identifying erosion-prone slopes and wetland zones, and sequencing the work so each stage set up the next — from a targeted spray programme and mulching through to precision planting at scale. In total, 60,000 native trees and shrubs went into the ground.
That upfront planning is now paying off. Three years on, the gully is alive with colonising shrubs like mānuka, kānuka, pittosporum, and rewarewa; wetland species along the gully floor; and young tōtara, tawa, and kāhikatea that will one day form the forest canopy.
🎥 Watch here: See the Maungatautari restoration in action
Ready to start your next project?
Whether you’re planning your first planting block or expanding on years of work, now’s the perfect time to start mapping, planning, and preparing for 2026.
Contact Adam to get your project funding-ready, mapped, and set up for long-term success
