Lindsay Hamilton
Highly Commended for Weedbusting Efforts
Region: Canterbury
Award Category: Canterbury
Year: 2012
Lindsay Hamilton and Graham Nairn are 2 stalwarts of the Tramway Reserve Trust which has substantially improved a weed infested section of the Harts Creek Wildlife Management Reserve on the south westerern edge of Lake Ellesmere/Te Waihora. Work along the section of public conservation land has changed from the initial large scale clearance of crack willow and replacement planting in the first few years to a more selective and managed programme of tasks. Consistently high water levels - they formerly fluctuated - meant tweaking of the number of species planted at the site and planting now centres around replacement and canopy species planting. The big plus of this project’s development has been the maintenance regime which has had a strong focus on removing seeding grey willow matures and reinvasion of the planted areas from different willow species. This atttention to maintenance detail and the refusal to bite off too much of the pie has meant a very sustainable work programme has been achieved. Selected drilling and poisoning of willow species in specific sections of the catchment has also produced excellent results. The fact that 2 men largely carry out the vast majority of this work is testament to their commitment to their local environment, their good humour and desire to halt the decline of a local habitat that over the years has been altered markedly by invasive species.