PLANTING DAY. THURSDAY 16th JUNE.
Clevedon Reserve/Camp Sladdin. ( Re scheduled from 26th May, cancelled due to poor weather)
Clevedon School children will be planting areas around the bridge over the stream and the approaches to the quarry from 10am to noon, and from 12.30 to 2.30pm. All members of the community to help the large contingent of children taking part. If you able to spare just an hour or longer, please come along to support the children and improve your Reserve. The Reserve is at the end of Thorp’s Quarry Road, a turning off North Rd, just past the entrance to Clevedon School.
AGM Monday July 11th , 7.30 at the McNicol Homestead.
Everyone interested in improving the state of our River, waterways, wetlands and surrounding land is welcome to come along and get involved in developing a Wairoa River Action Plan (WRAP). To see what our community can achieve with help from the Council, visit www.mahurangi.org.nz/Action-Plan/PDF/Mahurangi-Action-Plan.pdf. This concise and inspiring document is an excellent model, embracing the Warkworth community’s strong sense of identity within the Mahurangi and its harbour and their concern for the state of the Mahurangi catchment now and into the future. At a recent on-farm workshop a large group of locals were shown the owner’s extensive revegetation achieved with one-on- one and help from Council experts. The presentations by Merrin Whatley, Council’s Land Management Advisor and experts from Tane’s Tree Trust and NZ Farm Forestry Association can be viewed as PDF files below.
View presentation by Merrin Whatley, Council’s Land Management Advisor
View Presentation by Tane’s Tree Trust and NZ Farm Forestry Association
Plans for the Wairoa Catchment should get underway soon with the appointment of a Project Manager. Once a Plan has been drawn up there is scope for attracting substantial grants from various organisations and some of the $27 million appropriated by the Government in this year’s budget for grants to third parties for water initiatives, environmental management and education programmes.
Visit www.landcare.org.nz for more details.
Meanwhile WRL is busy propagating and growing on plants in its Nursery and helping plant areas on public and private land, with schools involved in both these with activities.
POTTING BEE
Wednesday 22 June 9am to 10.30am.
All welcome. We don’t work in the pouring rain and enjoy a coffee at the Clevedon Co Op cafe afterwards. Please bring along any bush seedlings as they grow well in our shade units. We also need lots of seed from naturally growing plants in the area. (i.e. Not from new plantings.)
NURSERY NEWS
Thank you to all that have been weeding. The kowhai are now doing much better. We have recently potted up a lot manuka, and grasses etc with the help of a Girl Guide group. A big thanks to Jim Peters who has brought lots of totara, ribbonwoods, karo bush seedlings and Shayne for the titoki seedlings. In spring the group will have some larger grade kohekohe, taraire and kowhai trees available to members. If you would like some of these trees, please reply to Nicky Auld.
SPECIMEN TREE PLANTING
It’s important to beef up native plantings with larger specimen native trees. For specimen trees, good sizes to buy are Grade PB 8 and PB 12. These are bigger than the weeds and with stand being eaten by the rabbits and hares. Best to plant in large groups amongst the young native plantings at 5m to 12m spacing, depending on species.
TOP NATIVE SPECIMEN TREE PICKS – FROSTY SITES
Totara and Kowhai’s grow anywhere. Ribbonwoods are a great streamside tree which helps to retain stream banks Kahikatea grow well in damp sites but can also handle dryer sites. Rimu do very well in moist sheltered sites and grow particularly well on the south side of the hills.
For FROST FREE SITES, puiriri are a fantastic fast growing tree for exposed windy sites, even as fenced off single specimen trees. They also grow well under the shade of other trees which shelter them from frost. Kauri and rewarewa do well on the dryer slopes and can handle wind. Kohekohe, pukatea, titokiti are great in sheltered gullies. Taraire and tawa do well on dry sheltered slopes under the shade of other trees. The larger grade PB 95 specimen trees can handle more exposed locations.
TREES FOR SURVIVAL
There has been a number of farms in the district being planted out by many schools involved with the TFS program. The school provides the plants and the landowner provides the lunch. If you have an area that is well fenced and would like a planting contact Sue Crawshay
DETECTING WILDLIFE.
Trail cameras with infra-red sensors triggering and capturing video and still pictures in daylight or darkness without disturbing wildlife are useful and a fun way to watch pests, birds (and humans!) behavior. The following link in the Forest and Bird website shows some interesting events in the Waitakares. Camera Trapping in the Waitakere Ranges.
TREES PROGRAMME AT THE BOTANIC GARDENS
April to July 2016 for children and adults.
• Self-guided walk through the garden of trees
• Practical workshops e.g. fruit tree pruning, selecting trees for urban gardens (Auckland focus)
• Guided walk of trees at the Botanic Gardens
• Offsite guided walks in Auckland
• Arboriculture demonstration
• Celebration of Sign Language week with a signed, guided walk and a kid’s discovery station where an interpreter will be based for those with hearing impairments
• School holiday programme focusing on trees
• Storytelling in the library
• Kids’ activities to do along the self-guided trail e.g. draw leaf shapes, rubbings and such.
Visit http://www.aucklandbotanicgardens.co.nz/ and https://www.facebook.com/aklbotanicgardens for details.