February 2014 - The Whau River Catchment Trust

News, views and information on the sustainable management and biodiversity restoration of the Whau River Catchment
Working together for healthier streams and river through community participation and kaitiakitanga
Kia ora koutou - Greetings to you all
February 2014
Find us on Facebook
Welcome to the New Year
Hope everyone had a good holiday season; we had some great weather
here in the Whau. There are lots of exciting things planned for 2014 so
keep up to date on what is happening by following us on Facebook. You
can also follow us on Twitter to comment on events and other goings on.
Send us a Tweet if you come across anything of environmental interest
e.g. we recently had a Tweet from Marcus Lush who lives in the area
reporting the sighting of an introduced Red Eared Slider Turtle found in the
lower reaches of the Rewarewa Stream (see article below).
Currently volunteers are busy helping to prepare areas for new plantings
or looking after areas previously planted. Others are helping with predator
control or removing litter from our stream areas.
Two stoats caught on the Rosebank Peninsula in 2014
Our top predator control volunteers Robin, Freya and Jan have caught two
stoats this year on the Kurt Brehmer Walkway. Stoat juveniles are born in
spring and early summer and start dispersing from January through to
autumn. Stoats travel long distances, especially when they are dispersing
juveniles, but they seldom penetrate into dense residential areas probably
because of the large numbers of dogs and cats in residential areas. They
often use human created routes (roads, paths) and tidal sand or mud flats
as their dispersal pathways. Water is not a barrier as they are excellent
swimmers. Stoats are known to use the coastal habitats on Te Atatu
Peninsula and Motu Manawa - Pollen Island. Catching stoats makes a
real difference to local biodiversity as a single stoat can do heaps of
damage killing local native wildlife.
5A Willerton Avenue New Lynn Auckland 0600 New Zealand
Phone: 09 827-3374 Fax: 827-3375
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.whauriver.org.nz
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Wednesday morning group now learning at Turbo pace
From February, Natalie Wilkinson will be working with our Wednesday
morning group of local volunteers, giving them some educational input on
particular species and their habitats within the catchment. The first session
will be on snails at Kurt Brehmer Walkway (we’ve found one with a taste for
meat on our rat bait so we’re keen to learn more). Following sessions will be
directed by the particular interests of group members. The learning session
will last around half an hour each Wednesday morning and will be followed
by a practical session. Sites will vary and the sessions will run from 10am to
12.00pm. Get in touch with Sandra if you would like to be added to the email
list for this group.
Sustainable Neighbourhoods
We now have thirteen official Sustainable Neighbourhoods being looked
after by the WRCT and more being signed up soon. With planting season
coming up it’s going to get busy! The programme can also provide practical
advice on how to remove environmental weeds and partake in other
sustainable practices. Have you thought about taking a look at how you
could be doing things more sustainably.
New developments are a foot for the Clark Street Common Sustainable
Neighbourhood near Wolverton Road. The stream area by the Gull Service
Station will be cleared of weeds and prepared ready for a community
planting to be undertaken later this year so if you live in the area and would
like to support the restoration of the Avondale Stream in this area contact
Natalie or Debbie.
Whau River Adventure with Pinay Aotearoa
In late January we had the pleasure of working with Pinay Aotearoa to support
them with their Whau River Adventure Day. Sandra took the group for a tour
along Tony Segedin Reserve and then we all got stuck into mulching and
rubbish pickups. In total we weeded and mulched 300 plants. The afternoon
was rounded off with cupcakes and some arts and crafts from the kids.
Thanks so much to Amie and Pinay Aotearoa for organising a great event. To
see all the photos please visit our Facebook page.
Turtles in the Whau River
Last November Marcus Lush posted this photo of a turtle he saw basking in
the sun along the banks of the Whau River. We can’t be sure what it is but it
looks like a red eared slider turtle. The red eared slider turtle is a problematic
species and we don't want to get them in our waterways. Most likely it is an
escaped pet or someone dumped it there, it is so important that unwanted
turtles aren’t just left in the waterways. People don’t realise that those cute
little turtles they see in the pet shops can grow up to 30cms and live for 25
years! The turtles are omnivorous and eat native species such as young eels
and native fish, and compete for food. It’s generally too cold for them once
winter comes along. This isn’t the first turtle sighting we’ve had in the Whau.
Let us know if you see any around and where. Hopefully it's not breeding.
5A Willerton Avenue New Lynn Auckland 0600 New Zealand
Phone: 09 827-3374 Fax: 827-3375
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.whauriver.org.nz
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We are still looking for Interpreters
Friends of the Whau would love to engage more with new immigrant groups
and people of different ethnicities but are a little hamstrung by our language
skills. If you have language skills in Mandarin, Cantonese, Hindi, Korean,
Vietnamese, Thai, or any other language and have some time to spare we’d
love to hear from you. We need interpreters to come out on site to help
explain practical activities to help events run smoothly. Get in touch with
Sandra on 021 295 0302 or [email protected]
The Whau River Catchment Trust Update
The Trust is pleased to welcome Jack Weir as a new Trustee to the Whau
River Catchment Trust Board. Jack is a past President of the Rosebank
Business Association (RBA), and is involved in the joint venture (TEPU)
between Unitec and the RBA. He is a past Trustee of Pathways to the
Future Trust which offers scholarships to promising local business
employees. He has significant involvement and experience with the
Rosebank area stretching over 30 years, and was a Local Board Member on
the Whau Local Board until recently with specific responsibility for Economic
Development. Jack has extensive experience in employment relations and
Health and Safety management.
Follow us on Twitter!
The WRCT have just started a Twitter account. We hope to use twitter to keep people
up to date on the goings on in the Whau, as well as enable people to let us know if they
see anything of interest. Whether it’s illegal dumping, wanting an animal identification,
or even if you’ve taken a nice photo, you can let us know through twitter (or on
Facebook if that’s what you want)
https://twitter.com/WhauRiver
EcoWest Festival 2014
The EcoWest Festival is the ultimate celebration of the leadership role Waitakere has
played in creatively engaging citizens in environmental restoration and sustainable
lifestyles since the early 90s when we became the world's first Eco City. The events will be
hosted by innovative environmental organisations, businesses, sustainability experts and
creative entrepreneurs who embrace eco ideas through their work. The opening event of
the festival will be the Waka Walk on Sunday 16 March - a journey from Olympic Park in
New Lynn to Green Bay beach which follows the historic pathway that Maori travelled
carrying their waka from the Manukau to the Waitemata Harbour. The festival will be
rounded off by Eco Day on Sunday April 13 - an exciting and interactive day out for the
whole family to engage in eco activities, as well as celebrate the achievements and
creations of the festival. As well as environmental action, there will be music, live
performances, fantastic food, art and market stalls. Join with FOW on the day.
5A Willerton Avenue New Lynn Auckland 0600 New Zealand
Phone: 09 827-3374 Fax: 827-3375
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.whauriver.org.nz
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EcoDay Event April 2014
Sunday 13 April 2014 from 11am to 4pm at the EcoMatters Environment
Centre, and the Sustainable Living Centre Olympic Park in New Lynn, which
will come alive in a celebration of eco activity celebrating the achievements
and creations, providing more opportunities for people to get involved in
environmental and sustainability initiatives, as well as picking up a few new
skills! As well as environmental action, there will be music, live
performances, fantastic food, art and market stalls making it a great day out
for the whole family. In 2014 EcoDay will be the best yet, attracting over
2500 people from a wider sector of the community. Join with FOW on the
day. What to see on the day;
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The West Auckland we want to live in - a creative, diverse and
healthy community
•
Foster wider engagement in projects and initiatives that enhance the
West landscape and communities
•
Supporting local community groups, artists and businesses.
UPCOMING EVENTS FOR YOUR DIARY
Community Mulching Event at Archibald Reserve, Sunday 2 March 8 -10am. We will be starting early to avoid the
heat of the day. Meet at the far end of Archibald Road in Kelston.
Contact Sandra on 021 295 0302 OR [email protected] for more info or just turn up on the day
Whau River Clean-Up Archibald Park, Sunday 25 May. Come and help the local Sea Scouts clean up the Whau
River. Boaties and landlubbers welcome. Meet at the boat ramp in the main car park of Archibald Park off Beaubank
Road at 2pm. Event runs till 4pm with a free sausage sizzle for all volunteers
Contact Sandra on 021 295 0302 [email protected] for more info or just turn up on the day
Contacts
To contact Sandra Maclean - Environmental Community Coordinator phone the office or 021 295 0302 or email
[email protected]
To contact Natalie Wilkinson - Environmental Education Coordinator and Sustainable Neighbourhoods Facilitator
phone the office or 021 295 0136 or email [email protected]
To contact Debbie Lovegrove - Environmental Education Coordinator and Sustainable Neighbourhoods Facilitator
phone the office or 021 231 8973 or email [email protected]
If you no longer wish to be on this email list please reply with 'remove from list' in the subject line.
5A Willerton Avenue New Lynn Auckland 0600 New Zealand
Phone: 09 827-3374 Fax: 827-3375
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.whauriver.org.nz
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