Developing a Rongoā Rākau demonstration site

So, what is Rongoā Rākau? The best way to explain this is to translate Māori to English. Rongoā is medicine and Rākau is grove or tree so basically Rongoā Rākau is the Māori use of native plants as herbal medicine. This project is being led by a member of the Jobs for Nature team. A site has been selected close to the Hukanui Road entrance where the ground is free draining (a rarity in Mangaiti Gully). It is still in the early stages of development. The track has been cleared but not yet formed and some planting done. The end result will be primarily a demonstration site with selected native plants being planted along an all-weather track with educational signs for each species. The photo is an example of possible sign layout.