Over 2000 seedlings planted by award-winning Swannanoa farmers
Swannanoa farmers Brian and Rosemary Whyte’s efforts to improve the environment were recognised with the 2025 WIL (Waimakariri Irrigation Limited) Shareholder Excellence Award for Environmental Stewardship.
Taking positive action to improve the environment while involving the community in their planting project has proved rewarding for Swannanoa farmers Brian and Rosemary Whyte who received the 2025 WIL (Waimakariri Irrigation Limited) Shareholder Excellence Award for Environmental Stewardship.
Over the last three years, the couple have grown and planted over 2000 seedlings from a greenhouse on their farm. With help from Swannanoa School and other community groups they have planted a 1.2-kilometre section of Burgess Stream which flows through their property.
Rosemary says she was thrilled to see their original vision come to life and for Brian to be acknowledged for all the effort he has put into raising and planting the seedlings.
Having support from WIL and the community is something that Brian is grateful for, and he believes that encouraging farmers to grow plants from seedlings on their own farms is a valuable initiative. He also credits WIL’s biodiversity project lead Dan Cameron with providing invaluable support and advice right from the beginning of the project.
“Getting that initial plan from Dan was important as we could do everything in stages. One of the important things we have learned through this process is that you need to spend roughly one third of your time on preparation, one third on planting and one third on maintenance.
“WIL has been very proactive, and it is good to be recognised for doing something positive for the environment. I think the awards are important as farmers don’t often receive recognition for what they are doing to improve the environment on their own farms.”
Rosemary says having their extended family and schools and other organisations involved has been extremely helpful and the couple have enjoyed sharing their project with others.
“We’d like to thank everyone who has helped us with potting up seedlings and planting out, especially Swannanoa School and the Rangiora church youth group who volunteered their time to help us.
“We have had quite a few family planting days and while we need to make sure we have something nice to eat afterwards to motivate our grandchildren, it is always a lot of fun for us to get together and do the planting.”
Now that their original planting project has expanded, Brian and Rosemary have purchased a larger greenhouse and the initial greenhouse provided by WIL will be used by another shareholder who wants to start their own biodiversity project.
“We hope that the awards and the projects provide encouragement for other farmers to get involved. It is good to be able to show the progress that we are making and to be able to pass on the greenhouse to the next farmer who wants to grow their own seedlings.”
