Planting specific species of trees whose job it is to stop erosion
As with our Native plant restoration programme, this year sees an additional legacy initiative at Little Beauty – and a welcome and important addition to our Sustainability story. Here at Little Beauty, as well as our 41 hectares of canopy, we also have another 70 hectares of land. This additional land surrounds the vineyard like a natural amphitheatre – mountains and gorges, gullies and valleys, wetlands and waterways. A lot of this land is home for our flock of ~400 sheep. But there are also some steep areas that, more recently, have been identified as areas that are at risk of erosion. Erosion occurs when we are subject to certain extreme weather events. These are known as ‘atmospheric rivers’ which is a long, narrow, transient band in the atmosphere (like a river in the sky), carrying water vapour from the tropics to the poles. And because of our position in the South Pacific, together with how mountainous we are, it can lead to heavy precipitation – ultimately causing landslides.
So, in consultation with an enthusiastic local expert in the topic, we have just planted hundreds of tree ‘poles’ (as seen in the image) around these sensitive areas whose job it is to stop erosion.
And also provide additional shade for our sheep. And branches for our native birds to nest. 🙂
Go you good things!