Horizons Regional Council is keen to hear the public’s aspirations for Tōtara Reserve

Horizons Regional Council's open day at Tōtara Reserve will be held again this year.

Dr Rachel Keedwell is chairwoman of Horizons Regional Council. The views expressed here are her own.

OPINION

Unlike many other regional councils around the country, Horizons does not have an abundance of regional parks.

In fact, we only have one – Tōtara Reserve. Up the Pohangina Valley, about 40km from Palmerston North, the 340-hectare reserve includes rare habitat remanets, large tracts of indigenous forest, a network of walking tracks, a campground and picnic spots. There is also a rich history of use by local iwi.

True to its name, the forest is full of beautiful old tōtara trees and is an excellent example of the type of bush that cloaked our land before it was cleared for farming and other uses.

The campground season runs from October to April, with more than 6000 people camping there each season. Among the many attractions the reserve provides, the river and bush walks feature high on the list for campers and day visitors.

The intact area of forest means there are many bird species thriving in the reserve and Horizons targets pests and predators throughout the reserve as a part of the biodiversity work we do.

Trapping and some poisoning are helping to keep the predator numbers down and although there is much more work that needs to be done, there are birds such as kererū (wood pigeons), kārearea (NZ falcons), pōpokatea (whiteheads) and tūī present in healthy numbers.

The reserve has not been a regional park for very long, with the bush remanent first being protected formally in 1886 and gaining scenic reserve status in 1975.

Administration of the reserve was carried out under various councils until it was vested in Horizons as a regional park in 2012.

The council has a formal reserve management plan that is due for a review this year and next month Horizons will be seeking community views about how we manage the reserve and aspirations for its future direction.

If you are a regular user of the reserve, whether enjoying the bush walks, swimming in the river and having summer picnics, or taking your family camping there on a regular basis, we would love to hear your thoughts about what is great and what could be better. Consultation starts in July so keep an eye out on social media and in the paper for your chance to let us know what you think.

And if you have never been to Tōtara Reserve, head on out there on a crisp winter’s day and enjoy the views from the top of the fern walk!

Or plan your summer and think about when would be a great time for a camping trip. Even though the reserve is not far from Palmerston North, it is such a lovely, secluded location you can feel like you are a long way from civilisation.

Another event to keep an eye out for is our Tōtara Reserve open day. We held this for the first time last October and it was such a success we plan to do it again this year. The open day was a great way to showcase the biodiversity work under way at the reserve, with lots of interactive activities for kids.