STUART PARK RESTORATION PROJECT – TITAHI BAY · Stuart Park is situated on the coastal headland...

N A T U R E S P A C E N E W S L E T T E R › I S S U E F O U R › 2 0 1 4 1

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Stuart Park is situated on the coastal headland at the south end of Titahi Bay Beach, Porirua. It has spectacular views out to Kapiti, Mana and the South Island and down onto Titahi Bay beach. Stuart Park is named after the late Hector (Hec) Stuart, he was a Porirua city councillor, deputy mayor and local f ish and chip shop owner.

A number of years ago the local horse club lost their lease to the park and it was opened up for dog walking and general recreation. Since then residents of Titahi Bay have observed the encroachment of gorse in the park and this year action was taken.

In May of this year the Stuart Park Restoration Project was launched with an initial working bee removing gorse from around the tracks and entrance to the park. A very welcome discovery was

the gorse was very stressed due to the ex-posed costal site. Most gorse had stem rot and could be broken by simply standing on the branches!

The park comprised two zones, the forest zone which we plan to return to kohekohe/tawa forest and the more ex-posed coastal zone that will be planted with costal species such as Silver Tussock, Taupata, Mingimingi etc.

The park itself has a colourful history and you can still see the remains of ter-races, middens as well as the old whaling station and old Ngati Ira pa located at Ko-rohiwa (coalheavers) as well as Komanga-Ruatawiri pa located on Green Point op-posite Mana Island.

The plan for this year’s planting was to cut tracks into the clusters of gorse rather than removal. Thanks to the stressed

1 Stuart Park Restoration Project – Titahi Bay

2 Kaipara Moana – ‘Looking Back Thinking Forward’

3 Education on the East Coast: Protecting our wildlife

4 Local schools help care for Tauranga Harbour

5 Te Pahu Landcare group planting day

5 Nature Space statistics

6 Harry Dreadon Ecological Restoration: “Rewilding Rural South Auckland”

7 Intergenerational commitment at Bushy Park

8 Urban dwellers see value in possum programme

STUART PARK RESTORATION PROJECT – TITAHI BAYStory and photo by John Hornblow

I S S U E F O U R › 2 0 1 4

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condition of the gorse it wasn’t long before we had 150 metres of tracks cut ready for planting. Planting comprised Ngaio and Taupata potted up the pre-vious season supplemented with trees from the Wellington Forest and Bird Nursery. Porirua Council will be sup-porting the project in the future with trees grown at the local council nursery from locally sourced seed.

Ecosourcing seed will not be a prob-lem as varieties such as White Rata (Metrosideros perforata and Metrosideros diffusa) Rewarewa and Kohokohe can be found south of the park. Plans for the reintroduction of rare plants have being boosted on discovery of a rare species of Melicytus (Melicytus obovatus) growing in a field of bracken out on the cliffs.

Plans are underway to establish a nursery and if any members of the pub-lic can assist, please contact the team at [email protected] or check us out on naturespace.org.nz

The Integrated Kaipara Harbour Man-agement Group (IKHMG) is hosting an inaugural event showcasing and cel-ebrating community and stakeholder partnership focused on the Kaipara Harbour.

The event Kaipara Moana – ‘Looking Back Thinking Forward’ is being held on the 15–16 of November 2014 at the Te Ao Marama Māori Cultural Centre in Te Hana, north of Auckland.

The IKHMG is a unique partnership led by Kaipara hapū, drawing together a range of stakeholders, landowners and decision makers to network, share knowledge, and best practice for the res-toration and preservation of the Kaipara and its catchment, NZ’s largest estua-rine ecosystem.

“IKHMG is a collaborative partner-ship. Its effectiveness and impact occurs by its ability to influence policy change, regulation, practice or investment, through knowledge, inspiration, good ideas, connections, and demonstrably effective solutions.” says Willie Wright, chairman of the group for over 10 years.

The inaugural event is a celebra-tion of the IKHMG’s achievements and a showcase of 10 years of community partnership. In this time the IKHMG has spearheaded a number of initia-tives, including extensive research and environmental monitoring, establish-ment of a ‘f lagship farm’ program and engaging in an ambitious program of riparian tree planting throughout the Kaipara catchment.

“There is a wealth of knowledge and expertise and this event is a chance to learn more about our harbour from scientists, experts and our community. By coming together we can share our knowledge and pool our resources”, says Willie Wright.

The IKHMG event is nationally sig-nificant and will engage Kaipara com-munities in catchment and harbour health. The event will offer something of interest to all –‐ from farmers to envi-ronmental managers, industry to hapū, government agencies and community groups. The general public are welcome and encouraged to attend.

“Healthy productive communities need a healthy and productive harbour.” says Leane Makey, IKHMG coordinator. “The IKHMG is bringing our commu-nity together to celebrate the work we have achieved to raise the profile of the plight of the Kaipara moana”.

To register for the event you can visit www.kaiparaharbour.net.nz/kaiparamoana or call and email us using below details.

For more information please contact: Leane Makey, Co-ordinator [email protected] 0204 045 0781

Willie Wright, Chair [email protected]

Find the Integrated Kaipara Harbour Management Group online: www.kaiparaharbour.net.nz

KAIPARA MOANA – ‘LOOKING BACK THINKING FORWARD’Story by Leane Makey and Willie Wright. Photo: IKHMG

Crown Copyright: Department of Conservation Te Papa Atawhai


— More information on page 3

http://www.naturespace.org.nz


Ahh, Spring bringing new growth and new life… and unfortunately the onset of pests such as stoats, ferrets, possums and rats! So it is fitting that during the winter months DOC Ranger Joe Waikari has been getting around the region talking to schools, Kohanga, early childhood centres and marae about protecting our native wildlife from these little ‘nasties’.

East Coast schools such as Ormond, Makauri, Tolaga Bay Area and Te Kura Kaupapa Maori o Kawakawa mai Tawhiti will be taking the talk further and making DOC 200 traps to set at various locations: Waihirere Domain - Gisborne, along the Uawa River by Tolaga Bay School and Oneroa beach

at Hicks Bay to protect their small dot-terel population.

Ranger Joe takes his taxidermy friends so kids can get up close and personal with both the ‘nasties’ and our precious taonga. He shows kids how the traps work and why this work is impor-tant to protecting our native species.

“We teach that we can all play our part in looking after our environment, from being responsible with rubbish, hunting possums for fur, to getting involved with a project such as pest control”

“The more we learn about our native species, the better equipped we are to become great kaitiaki” says Ranger Joe Waikari.

EDUCATION ON THE EAST COAST: PROTECTING OUR WILDLIFEStory and photo by Trudi Ngawhare

KEY FACTS The Kaipara Harbour is New Zealand’s largest esturine ecosystem at 94700 ha. The harbour receives run-off from a 6,400km2 catchment of which 53% supports highly productive pasture and a 9,000km river network.

Most of the natural world of the Kaipara was ex-hausted by the 1920s, through deforestation and subse-quently through land management that has contributed to soil erosion, silted-up streams, rivers and estuaries, poor water quality and bio-¬diversity loss (60–80%), eutrophication (oxygen depletion due to over nutrifica-tion) and loss of productive land.

Today the Kaipara contains five broad ecosystems: forest, freshwater, scrublands, dunelands and estuaries. It also contains some of the rarest ecosystems in New Zealand: sand dunes, seagrass and freshwater and es-tuarine wetlands. The harbour is a well-known and im-portant snapper and shark nursery. Research suggests this nursery provides most of the North Island’s West Coast snapper population.

The Kaipara suffers ongoing, cumulative stress from sedimentation and eutrophication with high rates of sediment, phosphorus, nitrogen and E. coli bacteria. The Wairoa River delivers the greatest sediment and nutrient loads into the harbour, which is transported throughout the Northern and into the Southern sections of the harbour, through to the harbour entrance.

THE IKHMG – 10 YEARS OF PARTNERSHIP IKHMG is a collaborative partnership. It is unable to compel its mem-bership to implement or change policies, regulation, practice or invest-ment. Its effectiveness and impact instead depends on its ability to inf luence these things through knowledge, inspiration, good ideas, connections, and demonstrably effective solutions.

Its management programmes are established to foster influence in as many different ways that are affordable, practical and have power-ful impact.

IKHMG is unique in a number of respects:

• It was established and is led by manawhenua. Their leadership and kaitiakitanga is a critical identifying component of this partnership.

• It draws from both mātauranga Māori and western science in its programme development.

• It is ambitious in scope, covering 640,000 hectares of land and New Zealand’s largest estuary, and engaging over two dozen committed partners and members from iwi, government, non¬‐government, community and business organisations.

• It is strongly connected to the local community – farmers, fishers, business owners, local residents and hapu.

• To bring practical effect to its vision, it designs and implements on the ground projects and programmes as well as seeking to influence policy, regulation and practice of its partners.


Eleven students from Te Whare Kura o Mauāo planted 450 native plants along the banks of the Wairoa River on the 29 July.

It was the f irst of 25 Wairoa River planting sessions that are scheduled with 10 local schools over the coming months. The planting work is part of a partnership between Western Bay of Plenty District Council and Bay of Plenty Regional Coun-cil to support the restoration of two and a half kilometres of Esplanade Reserve adjacent to the Wairoa River.

Bay of Plenty Regional Council Land Management Officer Paul Greenshields said that the work fits with the councils’ joint efforts to keep Tauranga Harbour and its catchment healthy.

“We all want clean water, wonder-ful wildlife and plentiful kaimoana (seafood). The new plants will help pre-vent river bank erosion and reduce the amount of sediment and nutrient run-off into the river.”

“Nearly 50,000 tonnes of sediment runs off the land and travels down the Wairoa River into the Tauranga Harbour each year. That affects water quality in the river as well as the harbour, it covers over sandy areas, encourages mangrove growth and has the potential to smother kaimoana (shellfish). Aside from looking after water quality, a planted strip along the river’s edge also shades the water – making it a better place for our white-bait fish species and tuna (eels) to live,” he said.

Western Bay of Plenty District Coun-cil Reserves and Facilities Manager Peter Watson said that it’s been great to have the support of neighbouring landowners to protect the river’s edge.

“And getting the schools involved in planting is a perfect opportunity for the kids to take action for their environment and to learn that what happens on the land, affects the rivers and sea,” he said.

“The work will be ongoing. Regional Council estimates that 92 percent of the waterways in the Wairoa catchment are protected from stock access and run-off, but 130km of fencing and planting is still needed to bring that f igure up to 100 percent.

Mr Greenshields said that Regional Council offers funding and advice to landowners to help them take better care of their steep land and waterways.

“It takes a bit of effort and investment on their part, but the farmers see benefits in stock health and on-farm efficiencies really quickly. After about three years of regular maintenance, the restored areas start to look after themselves,” he said.

Further information for landowners or Māori Land Trusts about how Regional Council can help them to care for their land is available at www.boprc.govt.nz/ landmanagement or by calling a Land Man-agement Officer, phone 0800 884 880.

LOCAL SCHOOLS HELP CARE FOR TAURANGA HARBOURStory and photo by Bay of Plenty Regional Council

Te Whare Kura o Mauāo students and teachers take a break with Regional Council Land Management Officer Paul Greenshields (orange vest) after planting 450 plants along the Wairoa River.

http://www.boprc.govt.nz/landmanagement

http://www.boprc.govt.nz/landmanagement


Just over a dozen volunteers spent Sun-day morning, 31st August 2014, plant-ing native trees along the Kaniwhani-wha stream f lowing from Mt Pirongia. The riparian margin was cleared of blackberry by DOC staff and the plant-ing was relatively easy going. Around one thousand trees were planted on the true left of the stream, following on from previous plantings two years ago on the same side. The true right bank, along which the Nikau Walkway follows, is now completely planted up, providing a biodiversity corridor from the Kaniwhaniwha Reserve carpark to the bushline on the mountain. This is an awesome achievement by DOC staff, contractors and local volunteers over a thirteen year period.

The 2.5 kilometre Nikau Walkway, is a popular recreational reserve and pic-turesque means of access to Pirongia Forest Park. It is unique in the Waikato and Waipa region as a clean river and reserve area with swimming and picnic areas within easy reach of Hamilton.

DOC has upgraded the Nikau Walk-way so it can be bicycled along in a fam-ily friendly way - prams with off-road wheels can also use the track. Schools regularly use the track as a stream and

bush study site and the track also pro-vides anything from a short stop for travellers to an easy stroll or a full day’s tramp into the Forest Park.

Funding for some of the plants came from the Honda Tree Trust, adminis-tered by the Waikato Regional Council, and the Waikato Raupatu River Trust donated some plants for the day as well, for which we were extremely grateful.

TE PAHU LANDCARE GROUP PLANTING DAYStory by Nardene Berry

Volunteers and DOC staff planting the riparian margin of the Kaniwhaniwha Stream. Photo: N. Berry

A good morning’s work completed. You can see plantings from two years ago on the back right hand side between the large kahikatea trees. Photo: D. Matthews.

NATURE SPACE STATISTICS

Number of groups per regionRegion Groups

Auckland 78

Bay of Plenty 5

Canterbury 12

Chatham Islands 0

Gisborne 1

Hawke’s Bay 11

Manawatu-Wanganui 5

Marlborough 3

Nationwide 5

Nelson 1

Northland 9

Otago 7

Southland 3

Taranaki 4

Tasman 4

Waikato 26

Wellington 75

West Coast 3

Total 252

Number of visitors per region for the last quarter (Jul–Sep 2014):Region Visits

Auckland 2,182

Bay Of Plenty 177

Canterbury 320

Gisborne 34

Hawke’s Bay 116

Manawatu-Wanganui 123

Marlborough 14

Nelson 28

Northland 96

Otago 93

Southland 10

Taranaki 44

Tasman 2

Waikato 218

Wellington 1,893

West Coast 6

Total 5,356

Plants planted: 1,426,596Possums killed: 16,754Stoats killed: 5,042


Vision: To restore and connect a mosaic of forest fragments in semi-rural New Zealand to a self-sustaining ecosystem suitable for the successful re-introduction of native wildlife.

Neighbours are working together to preserve their patch of paradise for fu-ture generations. Ardent conservation-ist Tony Steer came up with an idea to regenerate bushland on his semi-rural property in Papakura, South Auckland. Nearby neighbours soon signed up to the project after receiving the following “call to arms!”

“Are you interested in conserving New Zealand’s unique f lora and fauna”?

“Would you like to see, hear and ex-perience more wildlife close to home”?

“Will you support a neighbourhood conservation initiative”?

Now they are creating a “green belt” around their lifestyle properties. Tony says “Patches of surrounding land have forest fragments and we want to re-cre-ate a self-sustaining ecosystem”.

The Harry Dreadon Ecological Resto-ration project has received grants from both the Auckland Council Ecological Initiatives Fund and the Hunua Quarry Ecological Trust totalling $7,000. Funds have been used to purchase nearly 2,000 eco-sourced native plants, mammalian pest control equipment and help provide fencing for stock control. “It’s about con-serving New Zealand heritage, leaving a legacy and encouraging wildlife back,” Tony says. Auckland Council biodiver-sity, biosecurity and Wai Care staff have been actively involved with the project from day one – monitoring progress and providing expert advice and guidance.

Initial tasks included an eradication blitz on the numerous invasive weeds which were beginning to dominate the existing degraded forest and wetland fragments across a couple of neighbour-ing properties. Intensive control of pos-sums and rodents was next on the agen-da using a combination of bait stations and trapping. Almost immediately these

simple actions had a noticeably positive impact on forest canopy and understo-rey regeneration. Pests targeted palat-able forest species such as kohekohe and puriri and these are now f lourishing without the significant pressure from rats and possums. Another expected benefit over time will be an increase in insect density and diversity - restor-ing another essential element of a fully functioning ecosystem.

The other major task has been the replanting of a retired paddock and neighbouring wetland area with a di-verse range of colonising native grasses, shrubs and trees. A selection of enrich-ment species has also been inter-plant-ed to accelerate the process of native forest regeneration. Whilst the primary intention is to increase overall wild-life habitat, other benefits include the provision of wildlife corridors recon-necting existing forest fragments and the ‘softening’ of forest edges improv-ing the internal climate and humidity levels. Evidence from research studies would suggest that a healthy and di-verse habitat capable of providing an all year round food supply is an essential goal for ecological success.

The initial aim is to restore and re-connect over 45 hectares of forest frag-ments across eight lifestyle properties. Over the longer-term it is envisaged that with some encouragement more neighbouring properties will become actively involved as the project pro-gresses and tangible wildlife benefits are realised. Eventually an all-encom-passing ‘wildlife haven’ would include areas of surrounding forest providing sufficient suitable habitat for the re-introduction of native wildlife.

Tony finishes by saying “I suppose it ’s really about showing others that projects like these can be created in your own neighbourhood, close to home, so both wildlife and people can reap the rewards from all our hard work!”

HARRY DREADON ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION: “REWILDING RURAL SOUTH AUCKLAND”Story by Tony Steer

Image created in Auckland GIS viewer by Tony Steer

Photo: Tony Steer


When Ian and Robyn Marshall began farming at Bushy Park near Tikorangi in North Taranaki in the early 1980s, they could see immediately that its bush blocks made it special. They vowed to protect them as soon as possible.

“We were a young couple, 22-year-olds when we moved in, and straight away it became our heart’s desire to get that bush fenced off just as soon as we could afford to,” says Robyn. “When we became aware there were kiwi in there, we knew we had something really special.”

Twenty-five years later, more than 22 ha of remnant semi-coastal forest on the 200 ha farm is covenanted and fenced, with active measures to control predators and pest plants, and enhancement plant-ing undertaken.

With semi-coastal forest classed as an ‘acutely threatened’ environment that is under-represented in Taranaki, the Mar-shalls’ work has been supported by the Taranaki Regional Council, Department of Conservation (DOC), QEII National Trust, New Plymouth District Council and other agencies.

It was that support that made the dif-ference in the early years. Although run as one farm, Bushy Park is two properties

and in the early years, the larger portion was owned by Ian’s parents, Les and Ann, with Ian and Robyn owning the rest. They were approached by the Council and DOC about the biodiversity values of the forest, and the Marshalls agreed to cov-enant two blocks totalling 15 ha.

“What came with that was financial support for fencing,” says Robyn. “That was music to our ears.”

A framework for Council involvement was developed with inclusion of the first two covenanted blocks in the region’s Inventory of Key Native Ecosystems in 2006, preparation of a sustainable land management Farm Plan in 2007 and preparation of a Biodiversity Plan for the two original covenanted blocks in 2010-2011.

Meanwhile, the Marshalls have pro-tected four more Bushy Park forest rem-nants totalling 7.2ha QEII National Trust covenants. These have also been included in the Council’s Inventory of Key Native Ecosystems, and a Biodiversity Plan is on the cards.

Besides fencing, the main focus has been control of pest animals and pest plants, and the planting of nearly 3,000 native plants.

“Woolly nightshade (a pest plant) has been one of the biggest bugbears,” says Robyn. “It was really obvious early on that a handsaw and paste weren’t going to be enough.”

Lace bugs, a biological control agent for woolly nightshade, have since been released on the property and their ef-fectiveness is being monitored alongside herbicide control.

The Bushy Park biodiversity project has also become an intergenerational effort, with Robyn and Ian’s son Rhys having taken ownership of the smaller farm property. He is undertaking agricul-tural studies and last summer he and his classmates fenced the newly covenanted blocks.

The Council’s Environment Services Manager, Steve Ellis, says the family is to be commended for its dedication to protecting and enhancing indigenous biodiversity.

“The Bushy Park blocks are important ecosystems for threatened plant, bird and aquatic species,” he says “Excitingly, we’ve found a very good population of ‘at risk’ kingfern, and ‘at risk’ aquatic spe-cies include banded kokopu and long-

INTERGENERATIONAL COMMITMENT AT BUSHY PARKStory and photo by Taranaki Regional Council

— Continued on page 8


fin eels. It’s important to have secure habitat for rare and notable species like these in Taranaki.”

All six covenants are in relatively close proximity to each other, so there is connectivity for birds, insects, and seeds. They are also next to a DOC-ad-ministered reserve above the Waitara River, so they form part of a chain of forest remnants and riparian plantings all along the river.

Robyn says the family has wel-comed the Council’s involvement. “The support has been really good, and so has the communication.”

When the Taranaki Regional Coun-cil took possum control into the New Plymouth urban area, Don and Jane Ca-pon were among the first to enrol.

“Too right we were,” says Jane. “We’d already tried doing our own possum control and it’s really great to get this sort of assistance.”

With about an acre of bush on their section on the fringe of New Plymouth, Jane and Don are among 92 households taking part in a pilot voluntary con-trol programme centred on the urban Waiwhakaiho catchment stretching from the coast to the urban boundary.

The move is an expansion from the Taranaki Regional Council’s traditional rural focus, now that its Self-Help Pos-sum Control Progamme covers most farmland (235,000 hectares) on the Taranaki ring plain and coastal terrace, where possum numbers are being kept well below target.

The idea of the new programme is to fill in the gaps between the parks, reserves and walkways where the New Plymouth District Council already car-ries out possum control. The 92 proper-ties involved account for around 85% of the area’s possum habitat and under the programme, the Taranaki Regional Council meets the costs of initial con-trol and then supports residents to keep possum numbers low.

Controlling possums benefits na-tive birds, vegetation, insects and other native animals such as lizards, and re-duces possum damage to private gar-dens and fruit trees.

The Capons can vouch for that. Bait stations were set on their property in

May and they know at least one possum was eradicated within weeks. More tell-ingly, they can already see less possum damage to their apples, feijoas and per-simmons. For Jane, the big test was go-ing to be how the grapefruit crop fared over winter.

Under the urban programme, con-tractors work with residents to choose a safe and efficient control method for each property. Don and Jane say their Council contractor has been excellent to deal with and is keeping them well informed.

The Capons know of four or f ive others in their neighbourhood who have also signed up for the voluntary programme. “I think there should be possum control in every little bush block in town,” says Jane.

The scheme will be rolled out in stages across urban New Plymouth.

URBAN DWELLERS SEE VALUE IN POSSUM PROGRAMMEStory and photo by Taranaki Regional Council

Don and Jane Capon.

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STUART PARK RESTORATION PROJECT – TITAHI BAY · Stuart Park is situated on the coastal headland...

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