Stephen and Bindy Dakin owned 30ha of erosion-prone hill country at Tai Tapu on the Port Hills just south of Christchurch. The property contained some small woodlots of Macrocarpa and Oak together with small areas of planted shrub hardwoods and regenerating Manuka. Most of the remainder was open grass and tussock land with scattered patches of gorse. Their long-term aim was to restore the native forest for both amenity and productive purposes. A forest restoration management plan was prepared which set out the species mixes, techniques and regimes to be used to convert the existing vegetation patterns into a productive indigenous forest. Nurse species plantings were devised to encourage natural regeneration from native seed dispersed by birds. Continuous canopy silvicultural systems together with judicious plant and animal pest management were important elements to the plan. Click to Zoom on Image.