July 2010 Horowhenua, Royal Forest and Bird Protecton Society Newsletter

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July 2010 NewsletterPresident: Debbie Waldin Phone 06 368 3337 Secretary: Belinda McLean Phone 06 364 5573

At Forest and Birds June 2010

AGM there was no getting away

from the big conservation

issues that have dominated, at

times almost swamped the

organisation this year.

In the words of our President

Barry Ward, We rose to thechallenges presented by the

Governments pro-economic

development direction, which

during the past year has

sometimes threatened to leave

natural New Zealand high and

dry.

Forest and Bird led the drive

to protect our national parksfrom mining, launching a

campaign calling on all New

Zealanders to speak up for the

protection of our precious

conservation lands.

We have also been at the

forefront of efforts to

protect our few remaining wild

rivers from hydro dams andirrigation.the Hurunui and

Mokihinui Rivers and the

McKenzie Country are all under

threat.

While fighting these fires, the

organisation has also had to

manage its normal work

programme, which extends

across many fronts including

pest control, legal and planning

forums, protecting the marine

environment and supporting

branches and outside groups in

their initiatives.

All these issues were reflected

in the AGM programme, with

politicians from the National,

Green and Labour parties

having their say. We also heard

from environmental advocate

Cath Wallace, who drew on her

many years of experience in

dealing with mining issues.

Journalist Colin James noted

the increasing influence of

green parties round the world,

and predicted that we may get

a Green/Labour coalition in

2014.

The problem of work overload

this year has prompted the

organisation to do some soul-

searching, and all branches

have been asked to take part in

a planning exercise to help

shape the future of Forest and

Bird.

One name was mentioned time

and again at the conference.

Helen Bain, Forest & Birds

former Communications

Manager, who died in a horse-

riding accident last December.

It was clear that Helen made

an enormous contribution

during her time at Forest and

Bird and is greatly missed by

her colleagues.

The newly-elected, seven

member executive no longer

includes our own Joan Leckie,

who has resigned. Barry Ward

remains president and we have

a new, young vice-president,

Andrew Cutler. As well as a

strong background in

conservation, Andrew is an

expert in communications and

strategic planning, and has

much to offer the Society in

this critical period of itshistory.

Belinda McLean

BIG ISSUES DOMINATE AGM


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Change of Chairperson for the Horowhenua Branch

At our April AGM Robert

Hirschberg resigned as Chair of

our branch after 6 years. He

spent 9 years on the committee,

having also held positions as

Treasurer and Vice -President.

What a sterling effort he has put

in to our branch over the years. It

has not been easy to get to our

meetings as he has had to return

from his work in Wellington on the

Capital Connection and rush

through a meal before coming to

our meetings. All of us are aware

that the trains do not always run

to time so it was quite a feat to

actually get there. Our branch

would like to thank Robert for all

his work for the Horowhenua

branch of Forest and Bird.

In his final report he said thatour branch covers a number of

defined communities and that

many members are heavily

involved in projects within their

own area. He felt that it is not

just the large issues that are

important but also the small local

ones and we need to be looking at

our own area to see what we can

do.

Issues like the cleaning up of the

Manawatu River and other

waterways remain important and

voicing opinions on resource

applications that may affect the

environment.

The proposal to mine our National

Parks has focused people on

conservation and Forest and Bird

has been in the thick of it.

Welcome to our new Chairperson

Debbie Waldin. I know that we

will all support her in this

challenging position.

Hi Everyone I have been asked to

tell you all a little bit about myself.

I grew up on the East Coast of the

United States in Virginia. As a

young girl I was interested in

nature and all animals. I loved tocatch tadpoles in the local stream

and chase butterflies around the

meadows using my shirt as a net if

I didnt have a proper insect net.

My interests naturally led me into

choosing biology as my choice of

studies at University where I

attended Virginia Polytechnic

Institute and State University

from 1973 to 1977.

In my last year at University I

applied for and was accepted as a

member of a research team to go

to Antarctica. I spent two summer

seasons in 1978 and 1979 in the

Antarctic doing Biology

research on two frozen lakes in

the Dry Valleys region. This

included scuba-diving through 16

feet of ice to collect samples of

algae and sediment.

While in Antarctica I attended the

compulsory survival school and

learnt the skills of ice and snow

travel, negotiating crevasses,

climbing and abseiling an ice cliff,

and survival. This was fun and

exciting!

Upon finishing my second season in

Antarctica I stayed in New

Zealand and traveled around the

country. During this time a job at

the Cobham Outward Bound School

at Anakiwa became available. I

applied for the job as an outdoor

instructor and got the job. During

my time with Outward Bound N.Z.

I spent 3 years instructing outdoor

activities in bushcraft, climbing,

kayaking, sailing, and the ropes

course all around the Marlborough

Sounds. This time was fun,

adventurous, challenging, physically

demanding, and at times dangerous.

I loved it!

After my three year contract at

Outward Bound finished I got

married and moved to the

Hawkes Bay where I lived for

twenty-one years. I have 3 sons

aged 25, 23, and 19 who are all

independent and working andspread around New Zealand.

Cont pg 3

Our New Chairperson Debbie Waldin


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TRIP TO PAUATAHANUI WILDLIFE

RESERVE ---SATURDAY 8TH MAY

Postponed from the previous weekend, a small

group of us travelled down to explore this

wetland and reserve. It is the most significant

area of saltmarsh in the Lower North Island. Forthose of us involved in restoration projects it is a

real inspiration. The volunteers started in 1985

and have taken it from a barren, degraded area

to something to be proud of.

We followed the well marked red, blue and

orange tracks, stopping along the way to observe

birds from the strategically placed hides and to

look at the interesting vegetation. Lunch was

eaten in a very sheltered BBQ area by a pond andon the way back home we explored a little

walkway adjacent to Grays Road.

There were plenty of birds to observe there

moving up the estuary on the incoming tide.Margarette

Continued from pg2

Along with tramping, bird watching, the environment,

conservation, and sustainability, my passions include

fitness and health and I currently work as a Fitness

Instructor at Fitstop Health and Fitness Gym in Levin.

I competed in triathlons for 15 years while in Hawkes

Bay, but I only do the odd shorter events now. I am

also a trained secondary school teacher, but Im notteaching currently.

Our 5 acre property, the garden, plus a few

investment Properties keep me busier than I would

like at times. We recently bought a few goats for

milking which are also a busy hobby and they can be

Oh so entertaining!

Please come chat with me at our district meetings and

introduce yourself by name as I am not good at

remembering names! I would love to hear about your

interests and concerns. Debbie Waldin

PLANE WRECKS IN THE TARARUASThis topic generated a great deal of interest from our

members especially those that get out and about in

the hills.

Jim Taylor spoke to us at our June meeting on this

subject and with the help of a Google Earth

programme was able to pin point 12 sites in the rangeswhere planes have crashed over the years.

Some of these sites remained hidden for up to 40

years while others were more accessible.

The only crew to survive a crash were from a De

Haviland Tiger Moth in 1949. They were from

Masterton and were headed for an air pageant at

Paraparaumu airport when they became disorientatedby the heavy cloud. A downdraft forced the plane

down and it ended up in trees close to Maungahuka on

the main range. The 2 crew climbed down from the

trees, photographed each other and then started to

walk out. Fortunately 2 Tararua Tramping Club

members were on an Anniversary Weekend tramp and

they ran into them on the way out and alerted

emergency services. However their plane remained

hidden in the dense bush for more than 20 years

before some deerstalkers came across it.

Jim provided a fascinating visual journey in the

Tararua Ranges with additional photos of his visits to

the many crash sites and interesting maps, diagrams

and technical details of some of the planes

themselves. MargarettePart of a Ventura Bomber on the slopes of Mick


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We would like to thank the Eastern &

Central Community Trust for their grant

which is enabling us to produce our

newsletter in colour.

DID YOU KNOW?

Northern Royal Albatross

Toroa is the Maori name for albatross.

Its wingspan is up to 3 metres and it

is able to fly at speeds of around 120 kph.

The best place to see albatross is at the

Taiaroa Heads on the Otago Peninsula.

The colony there is intensively managed

by DOC to ensure its survival.

The albatross is a biennial breeder. A

single egg is laid in late October or

November and the incubation is shared by

both parents. The chick hatches in

February and by seven months it weighs

10-12 kgs.

Return Address

Horowhenua Forest &

Bird

C/- L. Berger

5 Gordon PlaceLEVIN

Albatross and Chick Photo by Geoff Monk

Photo byCarol McEwing Anderson

OTAKI RIVER RESTORATIONMax Lutz, an Otaki farmer and chair of the Friends

of the Otaki River came to our May meeting to tell usabout the work they are undertaking on the banks of

the river.

Over the years the Otaki River has had major flooding

problems and the Regional Council Flood Protection

Team, has worked extremely hard to overcome these.

When there was heavy rain up in the Tararua Ranges

farms were flooded, crops destroyed, and paddocks

were covered with debris. Sometimes even Otaki

Town itself was flooded.

Stopbanks were built, plantings established and then

with the help of local volunteers a nursery was built in

Riverbank Rd to grow suitable plants to re-vegetate

the banks. An estimated 25.000 plants have been put

in along the banks of the Otaki River on the East side

of the main highway and these are now doing

extremely well. Walkways have also been built so thatpeople are able to walk along the river bank as far as

Chrystalls Bend and the River Walkway on the seaward

side has also been established.

Just recently planting has started on the west side of

the main highway right down by the river mouth and

Max invited our members to assist with this planting

on the 29th May. What a great turnout of helpers. The

holes were dug, the plants laid out and in under 2

hours, with the assistance of 50-60 people( including

many from our F&B branch) 900 plants were in theground. Well done Barbara Littlejohns for organising

our members and congratulations to the Otaki River

group on their project success.Margarette

Documents

July 2010 Horowhenua, Royal Forest and Bird Protecton Society Newsletter