Aiming to minimise our impact on our lands, the Sustainability Centre is home to many initiatives.
Ngaire George Sustainability Centre
Our Investment Ngā Haumitanga
The Sustainability Centre was spearheaded by the late Ngaire George. It builds on the philosophy of integrating our current business activities by trying to minimise our impact on the land.
The Nursery
Founded in 2010, the Tūaropaki Native Plant Nursery is an integral part of the Ngaire George Sustainability Centre at Mōkai. The original focus of production at the Tūaropaki Trust’s nursery was on native species suitable for planting in environmentally sensitive areas, such as along waterways. This is still important in what gets propagated, though the nursery also has a stock of larger grade trees for beautification plantings or landscaping.
Seed is sourced locally in the Central Plateau ensuring a better chance of survival and health when trees and shrubs are planted. The Trust has a long record of preparing and planting areas with nursery stock on its own farmland to assist in revegetation projects like waterway protection and soil conservation. In an average year between 50,000 and 60,000 natives are planted in riparian areas or blocks on both the Station and two Dairy units that are too steep or boggy to be farmed profitably and sustainably.
New laybys (standing out areas) and shade frames developed at the Native Plant Nursery have significantly increased the nursery’s capacity to accommodate more plants for hardening off. This process ensures that plants are well-prepared before being sold or planted on Trust whenua.
Vermiculture
The Sustainability Centre is home to our worm farm, part of our endeavour to minimise our impact on the land.
Green waste from the pastoral farming units and Gourmet Mōkai glasshouses, along with dissolved air flotation (DAF) by-products from the Miraka wastewater system are processed into valuable vermicompost. This process not only reduces waste and environmental impact, but also produces nutrient-rich compost that contributes to the health and fertility of the whenua.
So far, vermicompost has been applied to 45ha blocks of ex-forestry land, providing much-needed organic matter on raw pumice soil and helping condition the topsoil layer for crops and grass.
Heritage Seed Bank
Tūaropaki’s Heritage Seed Bank provides back-up support to other seed banks in Aotearoa and has been in operation since 2016, through the development of a relationship with the Koanga Institute.
Moving into a medium-long term storage plan for those species that can survive freezing or chilling (orthodox and intermediate seeds) has allowed the Trust to extend storage periods for some stock and reduce the Seed Bank’s operating costs. The Trust continues to assess the best way to manage the collection.
Many heritage seeds are recognised as offering greater nutritional benefits as mature, heirloom plants tend to bear produce with a lower sugar content.
Apiculture
The Trust’s apiaries play a crucial role in providing pollination services, benefiting the ecosystem and promoting agricultural productivity. The Trust’s beehives have been built up through careful management from three hives to around 80 by 2019. The groups of hives (apiaries) are managed in five different areas around the Station. The number of hives per apiary varies each year depending on the prevalence of wasps, Varroa mite and American Foul Brood.
As a bonus, each year several hundreds of kilograms of honey is extracted and distributed to Owners or made available for sale via the Nursery website. Our Mīere Ngāi Tipu Whakauruuru – mixed flora honey – is available to purchase in creamed, liquid and comb form.
We recommend trying the comb honey! It won bronze in the cut comb category at the Apiculture New Zealand Honey Awards both in 2021 and 2023.
Honey distributed Tukuhanga Mīere
Honey products distributed during FY23 at the AGM, regional wānanga or as gifts during health and wellbeing workshops.
our facilities Te Pae o Tūaropaki
The facility known as Te Pae o Tūaropaki at the Ngaire George Sustainability Centre incorporates the nursery office, staff kitchen and conferencing facilities including an atrium and board room. It is used for a range of activities such as meetings, owner engagement hui and workshops. Te Pae was purpose-designed to be a centre for the Mōkai hub with construction completed in 2018, forming a major part of the expansion and redevelopment of the centre.
Job Opportunities Ngā Mahi
Interested in a role at the Sustainability Centre? We recommend keeping an eye on our Careers portal for openings.
Our business ventures Ngā Pakihi
From geothermal power generation and pastoral farming to energy services and engineering, our array of enterprises embodies innovation, sustainability, and a commitment to excellence.
Pastoral farming, one of the Trust's core activities, is carried out on 3,410...
View business venturesTemperature Controlled Horticulture
The geothermally heated glasshouse uses a hydroponic method where each plant is...
View business venturesThe Tuaropaki geothermal power station produces 113MW of electricity which is...
View business ventures