Working Together for Healthier Streams and River Through Community
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Working together for healthier streams and river through community participation and kaitiakitanga News, views and information on the sustainable management and biodiversity restoration of the Whau River Catchment Kia ora koutou - Greetings to you all Find us on Facebook July 2020 Ecological Restoration: Volunteering Auckland helps to boost our capacity In July staff from one of NZ’s best breweries - Garage Project joined us on site at the Kurt Brehmer Walkway on Rosebank Peninsula. The team worked on a spiny weed called Eleagnus using our new leather gloves supplied through Love Your Neighbourhood; they also cut massive amounts of Elephant Grass. Funnily enough, one of Garage Project's best beers is Pernicious Weed - a beer we sometimes award for top services in the field of weed control. Lovely to work with these people and thanks to Volunteering Auckland for supplying such a great number of corporate teams to help us. Ecological Restoration: The Thursday Friends of the Whau group goes from strength to strength Every Thursday we have had a great crew of people turn out for our weekly session. This team is getting more skilled up by the week and Volunteers have tackled a broad range of exotic weeds on the Rosebank Peninsula. Some volunteers have gone back to work or study but we continue to get more new people coming along each week from all walks of life and from different parts of the city. Due to Volunteers requets we’ve extended the time that these events run so they now go from 10am through till 12.30pm. Get in touch if you would like to hear more about this fabulous group. Contact Sandra: [email protected] 36 Rathlin St, Blockhouse Bay, Auckland 0600. New Zealand P: 09 627-3372 E: [email protected] W: www.whauriver.org.nz F: www.facebook.com/whaurivercatchment 1 Te Whau Biodiversity Survey: Become a Community Scientist register for the upcoming workshop We are looking for more Volunteers to participate in our Te Whau Biodiversity Survey. It does not take up much of your time. You can do it while walking in the local reserve or from your own backyard. All you need to do is take photos of weed and/or native plants. If you already have the iNaturalist app on your phone, you can instantly download the image and its GPS location at a push of a button. It is so easy. You will be helping a great cause at the same time. As each photo becomes data that is used to establish where weeds and native plants are located within the Whau River catchment. This is something that has not been done before. If you are interested and would like to join a workshop on the 6th of September at the Blockhouse Bay Recreational Reserve email Justine at [email protected]. For further details. If you cannot make it check out how to download the iNaturalist app on this link Ecological Restoration: KiwiKrew in action on the Kurt Brehmer Walkway Checkout our new volunteers – they look pretty handy don’t they! KiwiKrew – are Entertainment Industry Roadies, whose work is really quiet given the current border closures in NZ & worldwide. No concerts means no work, but these people want to stay busy and every Friday they will be out helping us with our restoration work. Thanks guys we really appreciate what you are doing. Environmental Education: Whau River catchment stream water testing It is great to see so many people wanting to participate in water testing of freshwater streams within the Whau River Catchment. Stream water testing is essential at this time of the year. Especially after a heavy rainfall. The stream ecosystems are often seriously affected by stormwater runoff that washes pollutants, nutrients and sediments into our streams. Unfortunately, most storm water systems are not designed to handle large amounts of water flowing off imperious surfaces within built up urban areas, which can cause serious problems for stream ecosystems and our health. Check out this link for more details. If you wish to assist with testing stream water health please contact Justine by emailing: [email protected] or mobile: 021627864. See the events page at the end of the ENews for dates and times of the next stream water-testing event. WRCT Community Plant Nursery: Individual Volunteers & Groups Wanted WRCT staff and FOW Volunteers have been working on and off to develop an area to hold the 20,000 plants received annually from Auckland Council’s, Mayor’s Million Trees programme. The area also provides space for the growing on of native enrichment plant species, which we require for our restoration projects in the Whau River catchment. The Nursery area is comprised of a plant holding area, plant propagation area, potting shed and storage facilities. From the beginning of this year, the Community Nursery will be open to Volunteers who would like to participate in the growing and propagation of native plants, which are specific to the Whau River catchment. 36 Rathlin St, Blockhouse Bay, Auckland 0600. New Zealand P: 09 627-3372 E: [email protected] W: www.whauriver.org.nz F: www.facebook.com/whaurivercatchment 2 Community Science –Te Whau Biodiversity Survey 2020 The ‘Te Whau Biodiversity Survey 2020’ is in action on iNaturalists. Last year there was 1000 observations added to the iNaturalists app by people in the community. This year we want to increase the numbers of observation by double. We need your help by taking photos of the animals and plants you observe in your backyard or in your local reserve. It is easy to do. Just download the iNaturalists app onto your mobile phone and start taking photos. All photos will automatically become data for the ‘Te Whau Biodiversity Survey 2020’. Provided the photos be taken within the Whau River Catchment area. If unsure what to do attend a 2-hour workshop run at the Blockhouse Boy Recreational Park. You will learn how to use the iNaturalist app and the advantages of the participating in the biodiversity survey. It is a fun way to learn more about nature and find out what wildlife lives in your neighbourhood. Why not form a Neighbourhood family group and involve the children. For more details and regular updates, please follow progress in more detail on our Facebook Page or visit the project on the iNaturalists website if you need more information on how to use the iNaturalists phone app click on this link. The project recommenced in January 2020 and will run until the 31st December 2020, thanks to support from The Trusts Community Foundation and Whau Wildlink. If you have, any questions please feel free to contact Justine by email: [email protected] or mobile: 021627864. 36 Rathlin St, Blockhouse Bay, Auckland 0600. New Zealand P: 09 627-3372 E: [email protected] W: www.whauriver.org.nz F: www.facebook.com/whaurivercatchment 3 Kids’ Corner: Quiz 1) What bird feeds 2) Where are you 3) What New 4) What weed forms on insects in the most likely to see Zealand plant a large pod of air? a dragonfly? bears cones air-Bourne instead of seeds? flowers? a) Kiwi a) Polluted water a) Kowhai (a) Ginger plant b) Kereru b) Flooded water b) Totara (b) Gorse c) Pukeko c) Freshwater water c) Pohutakawa (c) Elephant grass d) Fantail (Streams, ponds d) Nikau (d) Moth plants and lakes) d) Salty water (Mangrove areas) * Answers are at the end of the ENews Native Plant of the Month: Kanuka (Kunzea ericoides) The Kanuka belongs to the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. From 1832 to 1983, the species was known as Leptospermum ericoides. They look very similar to the manuka (Leptospermum scoparium). To compare the two different species, the kanuka prefers drier sites and is intolerant of truly wet soils. The leaves are softer to the touch. The kanuka trees live longer than the manuka, with an average of 60 years. They can grow up to 10-15 m tall whereas the manuka only grow to 6-8 m. The kanuka have slightly smaller flowers than manuka. The Kanuka flower in late spring to mid-summer (November to January). Whereas the Manuka flowers can be seen flowering during winter. Their seed capsules are similar to small cloves and not held onto the tree like manuka. The seed itself is small enough to look more like dust. Sooty mould occurs on kanuka, but not to the same extent as manuka. Kanuka wood is extremely hard and was used for tools and the wood can be machined. The brush provides shelter from wind and rain. Kanuka is also used for honey production. However, it does not possess the ability to kill antibiotic resistant bacteria that the some manuka honey has. Native Bird of the Month: Pukeko – Australasian Swamphen (Porphyrio melanotus) The Pukeko are a member of the rail family birds. They look very similar to takahe. Although takahe are much heavier, the pukeko are longer (51cm). They have distinctive colourings; a deep blue colour, with black head and upperparts, white feathers under their tail and a red bill and legs. They are widespread and are as at home in pasture and farmland as they are in the wetlands. They are commonly seen along marshy roadsides and low-lying open country. Unlike many other native birds, the pukeko has adapted well to new habitats, such as grassed paddocks, cropland and even city parks, a necessity brought about by disappearing wetlands. Although they’re not great flyers, they are good wader, swimmers and runners. They’re mostly vegetarian, but also eat protein-rich animals especially during breeding season.