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Forest Harvest & Native Reforestation Project

As a beautiful green space near the city, Summerhill draws thousands of visitors each year, offering year-round access to mountain biking, walking trails, sporting events, and educational programs. For over 40 years, the property has been home to tree planting, both native and exotic, and since 1996, efforts have focused on retiring waterways and preventing hillside erosion through strategic planting. Originally cleared except for scrub in the gullies, Summerhill now boasts 50 hectares—about 4...

Lambing Season has begun!

Please do enjoy our lambs, but from a comfortable distance.They can easily get separated from their mothers if panicked and this can be very distressing for all. If given the space they need they'll be happy and sitting & watching them can be a real pleasure :)A great time to enjoy farm life!...

Arbor Day 2022

Over 30 people came up to Summerhill to celebrate Arbor Day this year. Everyone worked together and we managed to get over 1200 plants in the ground in just over two hours! There was lots of friendly banter and laughs along the way, and a real sense of achievement at the end. A massive thank you to Trees That Count who donated all of the beautiful native trees and to everyone who so willingly gave up their Sunday for the cause! Our native plants & wildlife will be thriving throughout t...

Forest Harvest, January 2022

It’s harvest time at Summerhill, and that’s not fruit and vegies, but specialty timbers. This summer we’re felling and milling 2 beautiful timber species;  Eucalyptus regnans (Vic Ash or Mountain Ash) and Poplar. Eucalyptus regnans is one of the tallest trees in the world, and although our trees are only 40yrs old they are already close to 70m tall. The timber is strong and light in colour with occasional red gum streaks. It is used throughout NZ and Australia for flooring, inter...

Dirtcraft XC Grom Champs and Stumpies Enduro, Dec 2021

In early December Summerhill was pleased to host the DirtCraft XC Grom Champs and Stumpies Enduro. It's amazing how simply riding your bike with friends can positively impact your life and give you a reality check. Combining this with the fact we could see the youngsters getting stuck into it with facing fears, pushing themselves and watching their skill flourish is inspiring. It's the little things that add up to make a big difference. DirtCraft is proud to work with MTB Tauranga and we ai...

Planting with a Passion

In April this year, in partnership with the BOP Regional Council and Summerhill Charitable Trust, Thorne Group undertook a planting project on the Farm. This included the planting of a wetland area and surrounding pasture at Summerhill Farm & Recreational Park, adjacent to the Papamoa Hills Regional Park. The aim of the project was to plant native shrubs and trees for perpetuity, having multiple benefits of protecting the waterway, sequestering carbon and increasing native bushwalking areas.&nb...

Sharing History Through Hikoi

The panoramic views atop the Pāpāmoa Hills are breathtaking, but most people don’t realise the rich history that surrounds them and the rest of the region.One Tauranga man is making it his mahi to change this by doing guided hīkoi up the maunga and sharing stories of the region’s kōrero o mua (history and traditions). Les Millard has been hosting walks once a month since the start of the year, and The Weekend Sun was treated to one of our own. He walks the Pāpāmoa Hills two or three ti...