May 2007 Korimako, Royal Forest and Bird Protecton Society Newsletter

8/8/2019 May 2007 Korimako, Royal Forest and Bird Protecton Society Newsletter

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KORIMAKO

Newsletter MAY 2007

Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society Lower Hutt Branch

Chairmans Chat - Climate change is nowreceiving much media attention as it should andmust. The messages are clear and suggestionsfor action offered. But words are not enough;real action is required. But there's the rub; willpeople world-wide change their ways sufficientlyand in time? It may be that the tipping pointhas already been reached but still we must dowhat we can to delay or, hopefully, to halt theprocess. In David Attenborough's words In thepast we didn't understand the effects of ouractions. Now we must act before we doom futuregenerations to catastrophy.

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank CliffMason for his ongoing work contacting andbooking speakers for our branch meetings. Theirpresentations are always of great interest.

Stan Butcher

Branch Annual Meeting This will be held onThursday, 5 July before our guest speaker. Wewarmly welcome new members to join theBranch Committee.

Please consider offering yourself or nominatinganother person. Committee meetings are held inthe HV Tramping Club rooms on the lastThursday in each month excepting December.

Branch Donations Since November lastLower Hutt Forest and Bird has donated to thefollowing conservation activties:

Pauatahanui Wildlife reserve,Manawatu Estuary Trust,Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust,NZ Native Forests Restoration Trust andthe Rimutaka Forest Park Trust.

Grant Received We are grateful to the HuttMana Charitable Trust for a $5,000 grant to fundwork parties to Matiu/Somes Island.

Stan Butcher

Forest and Bird House Our house onMatiu/Somes Island has room for eight people.Bookings can be made by ringing Fred Allen on934 0559 or by letter addressed to:

The Accommodation Officer,Forest and Bird House,PO Box 31 194,Lower Hutt.

Bill Draper who has been taking bookings isoverseas for the next five months. A new 3-piecelounge suite and a gas heater have been boughtfor the house.

PLANT SALE SUNDAY 12 AUGUST

At the HV Tramping Clubrooms, Birch Streetstarting at 9.00am.

We will be setting up Saturday 11 August9.00am to 12 noon and need lots of plantsand lots of help, please

We need to move the trestle tables from the

Waterloo School, Hardy Street, on Friday10 August at 9.00am and return them Monday13 August at 9.00am. Can anyone with a trailerplease help with this?

The branch has a number of plant potsavailable.

For further information ring Pam Mayston569 7296.


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Pauatahanui Wildlife Reserve All hides havenow been reroofed. The last boardwalk has hadthe 6 x1 boards replaced by 6x 2 boards. Thiswork was done by a DoC contractor. The waterpump supplying the nursery and shade house,has been overhauled by Greater Wellington. It

was found, however, that the electric cablesupplying the pump was deteriorating and wouldcost $6,000 to replace. We asked the branchesfor funding and are pleased to say that UpperHutt gave $1,000, Lower Hutt $2,000, Wellington$2,000 and DoC $1,000, so we can now goahead and replace the cable.

We also have funding from the Stout Trust torefurbish the shade house, which will cost$3,000. Also from the funding from Mana Trust

we were able to update the display board in thecarpark. All tracks are now shown and there aregood photos of birds to be seen on the reserve.

The salt water pond over the first boardwalk hasbeen covered in algae in the past few years andhad little water, probably due to shiftingsandbanks. There is not the pressure of seawater to fill the pond. However, John Belldesigned a flume to divert water from the picnicpond which turned the lower pond into attractivefresh water. Now there is no algae and I saw

shoals of active tiny finish swimming lastMonday. The birds have shown theirappreciation by nesting on the edge, and longlegged black stilts walk through it, looking formorsels.

Ron Freeston

KCC I am pleased to report that KCC remainsin good shape under the capable leadership ofKaren Baker and Meagan Miller (who hasreplaced me).

Meagan is a young enthusiastic registerednurse, recently arrived from Australia. She rangF&B Head Office seeking voluntary work inconservation. We grabbed her quickly!

I feel very privileged to have these years leadingthe KCC members and their families. Introducingthe children to the wonders of our natural worldand reponding to their enthusiasm andwillingness to learn has been so rewarding.

The support from senior F&B members, DoCstaff, Park Rangers and many others has beenwonderful and I thank you all.

These children are our future conservationistsand must be given all the encouragement

possible, to foster their love of nature.

Field trips this year have been - An overnight trip in Kaitoke Regional

Park. For Sea Week. An exploration of rock

pools at Island Bay. The Glow Worm grotto in Tunnel Gully.

Both Karen and Meagan have attended a bushcraft course and the annual co-ordinators'

workshop. Pam Mayston

Remember - KCC membership makes a greatgift to children and grandchildren.Single subscription $12.00Family subscription $20.00.

Rimutaka Forest Park Trust The Park isrecovering well after the recent flood damage;most bridges have been replaced and tracks arein good order.

Pest control is still a major task, but with the aidof a great group of volunteers it is in hand.

The Trust is very pleased to have had a viableKiwi egg taken from one of the burrow nests andtransferred to Mt Bruce for incubation. It has nowhatched and is back to its birth weight. Afterchecks it will be transferred to the Creche atBushy Park to grow to about one kilo andeventually returned to the Park. The first ofmany, we hope.

Colin McLaughlan and I are still doing ourweekly trapping in the Catchpool area ourRestoring the Dawn Chorus project.

Bill Milne

Friends of the Belmont Regional Park Greatweather for our Open Day on 25 February. Ourbase was at the shearers' quarters a couple ofkm up Hill Road from the carpark. We expecteda bigger turnout hope to do better next time.A very good BBQ from Anne's efforts 4 wheeldrive folk were there to take people on trips


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around Waitangirua farm. Very good supportfrom GWRC staff Ross Jackson, CatherineHunt, Eloise Page and the new park rangerJason Barclay.

A group tramped over to Cannon's Creek and

met people from Friends of Maara Roa - theyreturned by bus to Hill Road.

Native tree planting will again be on during thewinter months.

Kaumatua Tramping Club still has a very goodprogramme of trips.

The 19th Commemorative trip to Warren'sSaddle was on the F&B trip list on 11 November

and the5th Commemorative trip to Tussock Knob forDave Peebles was on Saturday, 9 December.

These possies were often tramped by Dave andWarren, both tramps are in the Kaitoke RegionalPark. Bill Milne

Matiu/Somes Island Plant growth on theisland and in the nursery has been excellent.Introduced birds and animals are thriving.

During the past six months ten midweek workparties averaging fifteen volunteers have beenbusy bagging up remaining seedlings,completing maintenance work in the nursery andpreparing sites for planting this winter.

Both southern nurseries are now closed andwork is confined to the original northern nurserywhich is now holding about 3,800 plants. Wehope to plant most of these out this year.

Planting days will be

Sundays:3 and 17 June,1, 15 and 29 July,19 August and 2 September.

We hope to enlist twenty or so volunteers eachSunday. Perhaps you could recommend thesedays to prospective planters.

Sunday Ferry departs:

Wellington 10.0am returns 3.15pmPetone 10.00am returns 2.55 pmDays Bay 10.30am returns 2.30pm.

Please phone me (569 6208) prior to theweekend Alex Kettles

Annual Week Away Turangi - The recentcamp in Turangi was a real success andcarefully planned in great detail by Janet Coburnand Marilyn Wilkinson. Janet reports:

Forty one keen walkers arrived at the BridgeLodge, Turangi early in February anxious to puton their boots and get into the bush. There werecertainly no slackers. In fact some climbedhigher and walked further than they hadexpected. For those who fancied a moreleisurely approach to the outdoors theCatchpoles had made sure there wereinteresting strolls on the programme for them.Everyone enjoyed the comfortableaccommodation.

Some meals were held at the Lodge and tocelebrate Waitangi Day, Marilyn and Peter verykindly put on a sumptuous barbecue at their

holiday home. The only wild animalsencountered were mosquitoes which zeroed inferociously on those with the sweetest blood.The weather was kind to us, the bush andscenery spectacular and the company great.

And from Joyce Foster:We have happy memories of good company,excellent walks, comfortable accommodation,good meals and very good care from Marilynand Janet.

The BBQ at Marilyn & Peter's Omori holidayhome was a highlight for all. Memorable walkswere to Tama Lakes, to the summit of MountUrchin and to a waterfall in the KaimanawaForest Park. Alpine gardens in TongariroNational Park are a delight. On arrival eachcamper was given a note of welcome and adiagram of places we were to visit during theweek. It was a very well organised caring camp.Maureen had fun games on the final evening.


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Welcome New Members! - Andrew Cottle, IgorDebski, David Dingle, John Donaghy, JuliaFraser, Paul Galvin, Stephen Gemmill, BrendaJohnston, Diana Kelly, Yvonne Langridge, LukePollock, Porter-Wallis family, Beryl Tupper,Marjorie Veerkamp and Chris Waind.

Over the six months we have had a steadystream of enrolments. This also includes thosereturning after a break and people who transferin from other branches when they move house.Some will be those who received a giftmembership and are now enjoying the Forestand Bird magazine and the opportunity to hearour guest speakers and take part in our branchprojects. Please note that the meetings arepublic and you are more than welcome to come

along and to bring others with you. As you cansee from the programme enclosed with thisnewsletter, we have a wide range of speakersand activities and I'm sure there is somethingyou will enjoy. You are welcome to attendmeetings and trips hosted by other branches.

We have now started an e-mail reminder systemfor the branch meetings so if you wish to receivea short prompt in the week prior to the meeting,please contact me at [email protected] I will add you to the list.

Hope to see you at a meeting soon.Alison Sinclair

Hayward Scenic Reserve - The area coveredby the Waiwhetu Hayward Scenic Reserve is thebush on the Eastern Hills between the entranceat Mawson Street and the Te Whiti firebreak.The Friends are a group of local volunteers whohave undertaken to walk the tracks and eitherclear and repair them or notify others so the

tracks are maintained for all to enjoy. The groupalso meets several times a year for a social BBQor Pot Luck to discuss ongoing plans for theReserve, and liaise with the Hutt Council abouttheir involvement in the project.

During the last two months there have beenworking parties removing young snakefeather(used to be called asparagus fern!) plants whichhave come through as regrowth in areas whichhave been sprayed. Snakefeather is a majorpest plant in the reserve but hopefully with the

combined effort of the volunteers and spray work

being carried out by contactors employed by thecouncil, it can be contained. Other work in thearea is predator and pest control using bothtraps and bait stations.

After the cold wet spring bird numbers were low

but have now increased, and Hayward Reservehas good numbers of its resident populations.This is due in the main to predator and pestcontrol and the resultant increase in food supply.Bellbird numbers also seem to be increasingwith more sightings being logged.

People are encouraged to walk the tracks in theReserve. There is an easy to use map and trackguide available on the Friends Websitewww.waiwhetu.org which contains information

about the area and how to become a Friend.Alison Sinclair

World View - The population of female nestingleatherbacks has declined by 95 percent since1980 and scientists expect the turtle to becomeextinct within five to thirty years unless steps aretaken to elminate threats posed by industriallong-line fishing The ScientificJournal Nature.

World temperatures that have spread around theworld are greater than those of any period in the

last 1,200 years, according to a study publishedin the United States ..... The present warmperiod that began in the late 20th century is themost widespread and longest temperatureanomaly of any kind since the ninth centry, thestudy said. AFP February 2006

Bottled water consumption which has morethan doubled globally in the past six years, is anatural resource that is heavily taxing the world'secosystem, according to a new US study. Even

in areas where tapwater is safe to drink, demandfor bottled water is increasing, producingunnecessary garbage and consuming vastquantities of energy. said Emily Arnold, authorof the study published by the Washington basedEarth Policy Institute.

Documents

May 2007 Korimako, Royal Forest and Bird Protecton Society Newsletter