Everyone Laughed When This Couple SpentTheir Life Savings on a Dead Quarry...
Treeline Journal
114,404 views
A married couple bought a dead quarry pit in New Zealand in 1991. Thirty-four years later, it's an internationally recognized forest — and the rock underneath never changed.
Homemade guide: https://ecoharvest.gumroad.com/l/pvxfdq
In October 1991, Dorothy and John Wakeling stood on the rim of a 17.5-hectare abandoned greywacke quarry in the Waikato hills and bought it. No topsoil. No water. Rock so compacted a spade couldn't enter it. The quarry company that had spent decades cutting stone there didn't think a single tree would survive. Twice, the Wakelings proved them right — before something unexpected happened on the third attempt.
What does it take to turn solid rock into a self-building forest, without soil, without decades of geological patience?
🌿 In this video, we cover:
Why two straight attempts to plant native rimu trees on the quarry road ended in total failure
The unlikely species that finally took root — and why it was chosen for its refusal to die anywhere
How a single generation of surviving trees began manufacturing its own soil from bare rock
The 2023 disaster that destroyed over 100 mature trees overnight — and what the Wakelings did next
How a private quarry pit became a Garden of National Significance and, in 2025, an internationally accredited arboretum
Every claim is sourced from the New Zealand Gardens Trust, Waitakaruru Arboretum records, and national press coverage of Cyclone Gabrielle. This is not speculation.
Subscribe to Treeline Journal for more stories about landscapes everyone gave up on — and the people who didn't.
#TreelineJournal #Rewilding #EcologicalRestoration #NewZealand #Arboretum #Reforestation #Waikato #Conservation #NatureRecovery #EcoRestoration #ClimateAction #Sustainability
20 Comments
A collective approach , acheived an ecosystem in a quater lifetime . Congratulations
Wonder if the Nessie, I made for them was recovered after C' Gabriel ?
A few years later, when much of the spruce near my hometown had died off, some people decided to plant trees on the bare ground. Every now and then, I revisit the spot that my daughter had been helping to revive.
Now, five years later, I’m happy to see nature returning. Except for the forest trail, every little patch is green and alive. I counted a variety of different trees, shrubs, and perennials.
What surprised me most is that it’s not just the area where the trees were planted that has been revitalized. Frankly, I couldn’t tell any difference between the area where they had planted the trees and the areas that had been left alone. I guess sometimes the best we can do to help nature return is simlply to leave it alone.
Thank you for your visions decades ago, Dorothy and John!
Nature always finds a way.. if humans let her...
Everyone Laughed When This Couple SpentTheir Life Savings on a Dead Quarry...
Treeline Journal
114,404 views
A married couple bought a dead quarry pit in New Zealand in 1991. Thirty-four years later, it's an internationally recognized forest — and the rock underneath never changed.
Homemade guide: https://ecoharvest.gumroad.com/l/pvxfdq
In October 1991, Dorothy and John Wakeling stood on the rim of a 17.5-hectare abandoned greywacke quarry in the Waikato hills and bought it. No topsoil. No water. Rock so compacted a spade couldn't enter it. The quarry company that had spent decades cutting stone there didn't think a single tree would survive. Twice, the Wakelings proved them right — before something unexpected happened on the third attempt.
What does it take to turn solid rock into a self-building forest, without soil, without decades of geological patience?
🌿 In this video, we cover:
Why two straight attempts to plant native rimu trees on the quarry road ended in total failure
The unlikely species that finally took root — and why it was chosen for its refusal to die anywhere
How a single generation of surviving trees began manufacturing its own soil from bare rock
The 2023 disaster that destroyed over 100 mature trees overnight — and what the Wakelings did next
How a private quarry pit became a Garden of National Significance and, in 2025, an internationally accredited arboretum
Every claim is sourced from the New Zealand Gardens Trust, Waitakaruru Arboretum records, and national press coverage of Cyclone Gabrielle. This is not speculation.
Subscribe to Treeline Journal for more stories about landscapes everyone gave up on — and the people who didn't.
#TreelineJournal #Rewilding #EcologicalRestoration #NewZealand #Arboretum #Reforestation #Waikato #Conservation #NatureRecovery #EcoRestoration #ClimateAction #Sustainability
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