Last of 2,000 Kauri Seedlings Planted in Auckland’s Waitākere Ranges in Hope of Beating Kauri Dieback
The original Newswire New Zealand photograph shows young kauri beside the Fairy Falls Track. Photograph: Newswire New Zealand.
A new generation returns to the forest
About 2,000 young kauri grown from seed collected from healthy parent trees have now been planted in Auckland’s Waitākere Ranges, offering a measured glimmer of hope in the fight against kauri dieback.
The final seedlings were planted on Wednesday 23 September 2026. The project brings together Te Kawerau ā Maki, government scientists, Auckland Council and volunteers in a long-term effort to discover whether some kauri may have a natural ability to withstand the disease.
The seedlings were raised from seed gathered from approximately 650 “mother” kauri. These trees were identified by scientists and iwi as healthy despite growing in a forest where kauri dieback is widespread.
The scientific reasoning is straightforward. If a kauri has remained healthy while nearby trees have become infected, its offspring may carry characteristics that help them resist the pathogen. However, researchers and conservationists stress that natural resistance is not yet proven and may be uncommon.
The planting is therefore both a conservation project and a long-term scientific undertaking. Kauri can live for hundreds or even thousands of years, meaning the results may not be fully understood within the lifetime of the people who planted these young trees.
Seeds gathered from trees that survived
Among the parent trees was Aunt Agatha, a kauri believed to have been around 1,000 years old. The tree has since died from kauri dieback, but seeds were collected before its death.
Stuart Leighton, lead ranger for Te Kawerau ā Maki, told RNZ that Aunt Agatha remains in the forest as a dead tree.
> “She’s still there as a sort of dead skeleton tree now, but we did take seeds from that tree.”
Leighton said he hoped Aunt Agatha’s offspring would thrive in the Waitākere Ranges. Her story also demonstrates the urgency of protecting the forest’s remaining giants.
> “When your biggest, oldest thing starts to die, then that’s a real sign that we need to really start to focus our attentions on looking after this place.”
For mana whenua, the project is connected not only with scientific research but also with the guardianship of a significant ancestral landscape. The return of the seedlings to the forest represents a practical contribution to the future of the ranges.
From collected cones to planted seedlings
The Bioeconomy Science Institute collected the seed and raised the young kauri at its nursery in Rotorua.
Selwyn Insley, the institute’s Māori partnership lead, explained how specialist teams handled the process.
> “Specialist teams went up and collected the cones. The cones were then taken back to our nursery, dried and put into pots to grow up into the kauri trees that we see in the regional park today.”
The seedlings were carefully nurtured before being returned to their ancestral environment in west Auckland. Insley said the team responsible for the young trees was delighted to see them planted in the regional park.
> “The team that looked after these trees from seed to small seedlings, I’m just rapt that they’re here.”
The project is a positive example of Māori partnership, scientific research and community participation working together on a national environmental challenge. It is also a story that will interest eLanka readers following New Zealand community and environmental developments, including Sri Lankans in New Zealand who visit Auckland’s regional parks or take part in volunteering and conservation activities.
What is kauri dieback?
Kauri dieback is caused by Phytophthora agathidicida, a fungus-like water mould. Its scientific name translates roughly as “plant destroyer, kauri killer”.
The pathogen lives in soil and attacks the roots of kauri trees. As the roots are damaged, the tree is gradually starved of water and nutrients. There is currently no known cure.
The disease can be carried from one location to another in contaminated soil. A small amount of mud attached to a boot, tool, bicycle tyre or other equipment can be enough to spread the pathogen.
Dr Sarah Killick, Auckland Council’s principal biosecurity advisor, said the project had improved understanding of kauri dieback, although important questions remained.
> “We know it’s a soil-borne pathogen and that’s really important for us, so we know that because it lives in the dirt, the best thing we can do for kauri protection is to stop the dirt from moving between forests.”
That principle underpins the hygiene stations and track restrictions used across Auckland’s kauri forests.
Why access remains restricted
In December 2017, Te Kawerau ā Maki placed a rāhui over the Waitākere forest. A rāhui is a customary restriction that protects a place, species or resource by limiting access and activity.
Since 2018, Auckland Council has worked with the iwi to reopen tracks individually. Tracks are reopened only after being rebuilt to help keep walkers away from kauri roots and muddy areas, and only with the agreement of Te Kawerau ā Maki.
The rāhui continues to apply to tracks and areas that remain closed.
Auckland Council rules also prohibit people from moving soil or kauri material into or out of an area within three times the dripline of a kauri anywhere in Auckland. The dripline is the area on the ground directly beneath the outer reach of a tree’s branches.
Nationally, 10 rules under a kauri protection pest management plan took effect on 2 August 2022. These rules aim to prevent contaminated soil from moving and protect kauri root systems.
Some trees are also treated with phosphite, a chemical treatment that can slow the disease. Phosphite is not a cure and treatment must be repeated approximately every five years.
The scale of the challenge
The Waitākere Rāhui campaign says more than 22,400 individual kauri have been surveyed in the ranges. According to the campaign, the proportion of infected trees more than doubled over five years, increasing from 8 per cent to 19 per cent.
Around 70 per cent of infected trees are reported to stand within 50 metres of a walking track. This points to people as a major source of soil movement, although feral pigs are another important spreader because they disturb the forest floor as they search for food.
Kauri are important beyond the trees themselves. The campaign says at least 17 other plant species depend entirely on kauri forest. Kauri create a distinctive soil environment that supports plants unable to thrive in most other conditions.
Protecting kauri therefore helps preserve a wider forest ecosystem, including plants, fungi, insects and other organisms linked to the distinctive environment created by these ancient trees.
Hope, but no easy solution
The search for naturally resistant kauri is encouraging, but conservationists remain cautious.
Logging removed much of the kauri from its original range and reduced the genetic diversity of remaining populations. This means natural resistance may not be widespread.
Kauri also have exceptionally long lifespans. They live for hundreds to thousands of years, while kauri dieback can kill a tree within a few years. That leaves little opportunity for the species to evolve resistance naturally against the disease.
Even if resistant trees are confirmed, restoring a mature kauri forest would take at least two centuries and potentially much longer. For this reason, preventing the pathogen from reaching healthy stands remains the central priority.
The forests currently known to be free of kauri dieback include the Hūnua Ranges, most of the Coromandel and most offshore islands. Auckland Council maintains a dedicated exclusion zone in the Hūnua Ranges, where kauri material and soil cannot be brought in unless it comes from a certified nursery.
A responsibility shared across generations
Kauri seedlings can remain small for decades beneath the forest canopy. When a gap opens above them, they can begin growing rapidly towards the light.
That slow natural rhythm makes the planting a project for generations. The young trees may not create a mature forest during the lifetime of the people who planted them, but they may form part of the Waitākere Ranges enjoyed by their children, grandchildren and descendants.
For New Zealanders, including the Sri Lankan community in New Zealand, the message is practical and shared: the health of the country’s native forests depends on everyday care. Walking responsibly, respecting rāhui and following cleaning procedures can help protect one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s most important natural treasures.
How visitors can help protect kauri
Anyone visiting the Waitākere Ranges can help by:
- Walking only on tracks that are currently open.
- Scrubbing every trace of soil from boots and equipment at cleaning stations.
- Staying away from closed tracks and off-track areas.
- Avoiding kauri roots and muddy ground.
- Following signs and instructions from Auckland Council and mana whenua.
- Checking the current track status and regional rules before setting out.
Track conditions and access arrangements can change. Readers should check Auckland Council’s kauri dieback information page before walking.
The planting of 2,000 seedlings does not remove the threat of kauri dieback. It does, however, provide a constructive next step: protecting the forest today while giving future generations a chance to inherit healthy kauri.
Reported by Newswire New Zealand on 25 September 2026, based on RNZ reporting.
Original sources:
- Newswire New Zealand: Last of 2,000 kauri seedlings planted in the Waitākere Ranges
- RNZ: Glimmer of hope in fight against kauri dieback
- Auckland Council: What we are doing about kauri dieback
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