Eco-sourced seeds from Greater Wellington’s regional parks, grown behind the wire at Rimutaka Prison, are being returned to the land in a restorative cycle, as thousands of trees are planted for Recloaking Papatūānuku; one of the biggest and most ambitious native planting projects in Aotearoa.

Recloaking Papatūānuku was established in 2022 by Greater Wellington with a vision for long-term restoration; land that was grazed in regional parks and now lacking biodiversity will, over time, be covered in a vibrant green ‘cloak’ of native forest.

Greater Wellington Ecosystems and Community Manager David Boone says the prison nursery has supplied Greater Wellington with more than 130,000 plants so far this year.

“We have been working with Rimutaka Prison for a number of years, and the plants we receive from the prison nursery are always of high quality, at an incredible volume,” Boone says.

“Every plant grown for us inside the prison is planted in our regional parks, where our Recloaking Papatūānuku project is focusing on areas where the ecosystems need the most help – such as restoring the former farmland of Belmont Regional Park and Queen Elizabeth Park.”

One of the species grown by the prison nursery is Carex raotest, a hybrid so unique it is yet to be officially identified.

The Carex raotest seeds are eco-sourced from Queen Elizabeth Park in Kāpiti, before returning to the land as seedlings, which are then planted by community groups or people subject to community work sentences.

“Using seeds that are eco-sourced is a priority across all our planting projects – it's the way that we preserve an area’s unique characteristics and genetic diversity, and ensure the ecosystem has the best chance of not only recovering, but flourishing,” adds Boone.

The Rimutaka Prison nursery provides prisoners with a working environment similar to a commercial nursery, where they can gain skills and qualifications to increase opportunities for employment upon release, which helps reduce their likelihood of reoffending and keeps communities safe.

Principal Instructor Wayne Turner is incredibly proud of the nursery’s contributions.

“The Recloaking Papatūānuku project has truly given purpose to the work and training at the Rimutaka Prison Nursery. It's inspiring to see the pride in the prisoners knowing that the plants they’ve nurtured for 18 months are now contributing to the restoration of our indigenous forests.”

The men in prison have also found the work rewarding.

“Thank you for the opportunity to bring native forests back to life. I’m enjoying working with the plants and learning new things,” says one prisoner.

Greater Wellington is planting around 320,000 plants across its regional parks this year with the help of community groups and volunteers. As winter becomes spring, the focus turns to removing invasive plants and animals to give the young plants the best chance of survival.

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