In the heart of Taupō, a once-forgotten nursery is experiencing a powerful revival. Under the stewardship of He Tipu, a proudly Kaupapa Māori-led horticulture business, the site that once produced over a million native plants annually for government re-vegetation projects is coming back to life.
But this time, the approach is different. He Tipu isn’t just growing hardy native plants that can withstand the sharp frosts of Taupō – they’re growing opportunity, resilience, and the future of Māori horticulture.
He Tipu means “grow” and that’s the root of their aspirations – to grow its people, their careers, lives, and wellbeing.
The arise of He Tipu Nursery
The Taupō nursery traces its roots back to the 1960s, when the facility was instigated by government and then became Lands & Surveys and later DOC managed the site, that’s how the infrastructure was established. At its peak, it was a big operation, employing up to 50 staff, producing natives for large-scale government projects nationwide.
After privatisation, the nursery operated successfully for nearly 20 years across three sites before closing its doors in 2016. The once-thriving hub was left idle, overtaken by weeds and growth, and littered with abandoned plant pots and trays.
For tangata whenua (people of the land), the COVID pandemic underscored the urgent need for food sovereignty and local economic resilience. Recognising both the heritage and potential of the nursery, Te Pae o Waimihia Trust, the parent organisation of He Tipu, and represent six Ngāti Tūwharetoa hapū, took on the project and have a lease with DOC. Part of the deal was to tidy up the operation, make it their own, and undertake the wishes of the six hapu. Their vision? Restore the nursery, re-establish supply of native plants, and create employment and training pathways for local whānau, along with maara kai (food gardens) in stage 2.
Automation breathes life back into the nursery
Rebuilding the nursery has required not only clearing physical debris on site but also rethinking how to operate sustainably in today’s environment. For He Tipu, that’s where nursery automation comes in.
In 2024, the team invested in two key pieces of Da Ros nursery machinery from PrimeHort: ‘Traycee the Trayfiller’ and the ‘Tipu Transplanter’.
“Manual pricking out and re-potting used to take weeks,” says Ursula, He Tipu’s Nursery Manager. “Now, the machines have turned a two-week job into three days.”
The Trayfiller is easy to use and takes on the heavy lifting of container preparation, while the transplanter delivers consistently graded seedlings, perfectly centred every time. The result: healthier plants, faster turnaround, and less physical strain on kaimahi (workers).
“Productivity is definitely better,” Ursula explains. “What was once a slow, drawn-out process has been streamlined. These machines let us fine-tune our planting schedules, increase output, and maintain exacting quality control. Plant quality for me is second to none.”
Director Dominic Bowden adds, “We’ve got good-looking plants out there hardening off, all consistent and healthy, and that’s because of the machine enabling them to be uniform, and it’s good for our kaimahi to see that – it sets the benchmark around how a plant should look.”
Challenges and opportunities
Of course, automation isn’t without its challenges. The team works hard to manage seedling batch timing, so plugs don’t outgrow the transplanting machine’s specifications. This doesn’t reflect the machine’s capabilities, rather the restraints of being a very small team.
The upsides far outweigh any hurdles. Consistency and speed are lifting morale, and the ability to scale up production opens the door to new opportunities, including contract transplanting for other nurseries with different production windows.
There’s also a bigger picture. “Our kaimahi appreciate how automation makes tasks less physically demanding. It also makes it more appealing for rangatahi – it’s a game-changer if we want to attract the next generation into fulltime or seasonal nursery work. Automation allows them to work across more fun and interesting tasks within our nursery – so the more appeal we can generate, the better it will be for everyone.” Says Dominic.
Tikanga meets tech
For He Tipu, automation is more than just machinery – it’s a tool to help realise kaupapa Māori aspirations. Essentially, tikanga (old ways) work together with tech (new ways) to really scale up the business and eventually re-employ a larger team.
“We see technology and mātauranga Māori as complementary,” says Dominic. “The mātauranga (Māori knowledge) draws people in, and technology shows them how to do it efficiently and have a bigger mindset around output. That mix is powerful, especially for rangatahi.”
Te Moana Rameka, another He Tipu Director, agrees: “Automation preserves long-term career opportunities. It lets us scale sustainably while staying true to our tikanga, supporting whānau well-being and economic empowerment.”
Looking ahead
Today, He Tipu employs a small but dedicated team of kaimahi and Directors, with ongoing contracts supplying plants for Waka Kotahi/NZ Transport Agency, DOC, district and regional councils, and Māori land trusts. Their output has doubled year on year, and their ambition is to contract transplant for fellow nurseries to help extend their own season, and eventually they would like to re-establish planting teams as demand grows.
Dominic adds: “We know the nursery can be very successful again, the bones are here and longer-term the nursery profitability can assist the social function of developing the food gardens at He Tipu – allowing whānau to get fresh produce from their whenua, produced by themselves – that’s powerful.”
Ursula has the final word: “Nothing excites me more than watching someone’s entire way of thinking change to encompass the purity of Aotearoa’s natural flora and fauna. My goal is to see He Tipu thrive and grow like a grand phoenix awakening from the ashes.”
For a nursery once left to the weeds, the combination of tikanga and technology is proving to be fertile ground. And for the wider horticulture industry, He Tipu offers a glimpse of what’s possible when tradition and innovation grow side by side.
“The thing I love most about working at He-Tipu is the amazing kaupapa I am involved in every day. I worked here at Taupo Native Plant Nursery before it became He-Tipu for almost 20 years, then was fortunate to be employed by Taupo District Council as the Horticulture Team Lead. I have now returned to the very place my interest and passion for native plants began. I feel blessed to be doing what I love and for the opportunity to return to this very special place. I am grateful that I can utilise my knowledge and share it with likeminded colleagues and whānau. Nothing excites me more than watching someone’s entire way of thinking change to encompass the purity of Aotearoa’s natural flora and fauna.”
Ursula Rameka – He Tipu Nursery Manager
