Kereru Creek was formerly owned by infamous Taranaki propagator Eddie Lyons. He had owned the property for 40 years and bought it as a bare patch of land. He planting trees that he loved and propagating virayas and rhododendrons for sale to the public and regional gardens.
We purchased the property and became the new guardians of the trees in 2017.
After a year of watching the seasons come and go and what appeared out of the ground at each turn we started making our mark with our foundations in permaculture practices.
What’s in the Name?
We are Kereru Creek because we have Kereru, pretty obvious really. When we moved onto the property in 2017 we had one breeding pair of Kereru that visited us. They obviously knew it was a safe space, they would perch on low hanging branches within a metre of us, just observing. We planted more of what they liked to eat, kowhai and tagasate. In the spring of 2024 we had four breeding pairs visiting our garden. It’s an impressive sight when they are all gathered together in one small tree. We feel privileged that they choose to visit our wee oasis and slightly terrified when they swoop very low through the gap in the trees and nearly take our heads off with them.
What’s Permaculture?
Permaculture practices are the foundation for much of what what we do at Kereru Creek, we think this beautiful image created by Miranda Burton on the MILKWOOD permaculture website sums up our view of permaculture quite nicely. Learn more about permaculture from MILKWOOD by clicked through to their website.
