Welcome to the second newsletter for the Stuart Park Restoration Project.
Its great to be writing the second newsletter especially as everything we have to
report is positive, from talks with PCC through to the turn out for our first working bee.
Our working bee was an overwhelming success and everyone enjoyed themselves. In one afternoon we cleared all the gorse around the entrance to the park and a large patch that was threatening to block access to the two walkways across the park.
At this stage this is the only outright gorse clearing we intend to do. All the remaining clusters are going to have trees planted amongst them, utilising the gorse as a wind break.
We are planning to meet with representatives from Ngati Toa to discuss any cultural and historical issues relating to the whenua (land). During these discus- sions we hope to come up with a more appropriate name for the project. Does anyone know who Stuart Park is named after?
As keen as we all are to get planting there are two issues holding back the start date. First we are yet to meet formally with the PCC reserve team and secondly at time of writing the soil on the gorse bank was nothing more then powder due to a lack of rain and high winds. Even with last weeks rain, only the top 10cm of soild probably holds any moisture.
Stuart Park Restoration Project June 2014 Rata vine climbing Rewarewa Gulley of Mahoe and kohekohe behind treatment plant. Sculptured branches of Kohekohe Kohekohe in fruit (500 M south of Stuart park) Thanks to all from the Stuart Park Team.
Email stuartpark@titahi-bay.co.nz for updates on planting days. Quirky Kohekohe
Last month a group of us went to view a small cluster of Kohekohe in the gulley behind the sewage treatment plant.
The first feature that catches everyone's attention is that it flowers from the trunk! This behaviour is called cauliflore, more typical of trees growing in the tropics than windy Titahi Bay!
The kohekohe does not flower every year. It flowers early winter and takes up to 15 months for the fruit to ripen. So as you can see from the two photos, one tree is laden in fruit while the neighbouring tree only has clusters of flowers sprouting from the trunk.
Kohekohe seeds are distributed by the Kereru and proof of this can be seen in the seedlings found in most reserves in Titahi Bay. Possums too love kohekoe and can strip a tree of all its leaves, so these photos are evidence of effective possum control in Titahi Bay.
Kohekohe is the only representative in New Zealand of the tree genus Dysoxylum which is otherwise only found in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. Kohekohe is a close relative of true mahogany and is sometime referred to as New Zealand Mahogany. How does a tree found in the tropics get down to New Zealand?
Ready for Planting...
We have cut tree tracks into the south east gorse bank ready for planting. This track is on the steepest part of the bank with gorse only provid- ing .5 M of shelter. The lower part of the bank has much higher gorse providing a good 1.5 M of shelter.
You can see in the photo how dry the bank is. A week of gale force nor westers has stripped all moisture from the soil. We cant plant this bank until moisture levels have improved. We may proceed to plant the northern rata first as they are being planted down in the gulley where there is more moisture in the soil.
Kohekohe in full fruit - growing behind the treatment plant. The sculptured branch's of kohekohe. Never say die, this kohekohe isn't going to give up the fight. Kohekohe seedling spotted in Tuna Trc Reserve, less then 50 M from Stuart Natures Nursery
Last week we potted up another 60 Ngaios. We didn't get them from any commercial nursery but from under a Pohutukawa outside the Wellington railways sta- tion! The tree is a starling roost in the tree and has hundreds if not a thousand of cabbage tree, ngaio and taupata seedlings under it! If you want to see kohekohe in flower, they can be seen on the Colonial Knob walkway just meters in from Camp Elsdon or up the gulley behind the treatment plant. Do Kereru like reduced cream with their kohekohe seeds? A bowl of seed destine for a seed tray in our nursery. Stuart Park Restoration Project
Contact: John Hornblow ph 236 8624 (evenings) email stuartpark@titahi-bay.co.nz
Conservation Power Tools
If youre planning to get involved in conservation projects, a set of quality tools will save you heaps in time and energy over the years to come. The following tools are recommended for being ergonomically efficient, unbreakable and designed to last you a life time. While each is designed for a different role, they share one common trait, they are all made of real STEEL, not cheap alloys or plastic. They are not the cheapest tools but you can be assure you the price will be forgotten in years to come as yet another track is cut into the gorse and another season of planting is over!
Photographic evidence of early Maori / European interaction around Stuart Park. Neilson Collection ref: kai.time.5.hrs While not cheap, these pruning loppers from Levin Sawmakers make short work of any pruning job. What's more you can get replacement parts for all of their tools. Check out their forestry catalogue. The Atlas Trade planting spade is unbreakable! I've used one for years and many times its been used like a crowbar to chip holes into rocky soil. Another brand of quality planting spades is Spear and Jackson. Free offer! The Stuart Park Project will provide your own personal block of gorse to trial these tools! If not happy, you can return the gorse to us at no cost! Working Bee Jobs...
Jobs Done Gorse Clearing around entrance to park. Cutting planting tracks into gorse bank.
Jobs Pending Planting Northern Rata Planting the gorse bank with Ngaio and Taupata Panting the gorse patch by the water trough (if we get more trees). Potting up another 100 Taupata (koha of potting mix most welcome!) Mana Island Rainfall Why are we holding off planting after receiving rain just the other day? Take a look at how much rain Mana Island got last month. What's more there were gales for over a week peaking at 126 Kp/h. This evaporated even more of what little moisture was in the soil.