Latest highlights:
Nursery happenings
Something in the water… Living Water that is
A few words about seeds
Trees that count
Nursery happenings
We have been busy in the nursery, helped out especially by a small dedicated team from Otamatea High School. This is part of Josh and Hayley’s contribution to a community service activity as part of their Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme programmes, and of course dad Wayne has to bring them along and adds to the team effort. All the repotting is now complete, and I now have a tally of the number of plants available for planting out this winter – about 8,500. When we add the 7,000 coming from Reconnecting Northland, the total trees to be planted is a reasonably respectable number. But wait, there’s more….
Something in the water… Living Water that is
The big news for this Update is the Society’s success with being awarded a grant of over $12,000 by Living Water. Back in 2013 Fonterra and the Department of Conservation got together and signed up to a 10-year partnership agreement which is focused on improving biodiversity and water quality at five significant catchments where intensive dairying exists, including the Kaipara Harbour. Both parties recognised that quality water from healthy ecosystems underpins New Zealand’s environmental health, community well-being and economic prosperity. The partnership works with farmers, iwi/hapu, community groups and key stakeholders on programmes including pest control, riparian restoration that benefit freshwater and coastal environments and show that sustainable dairying can be part of healthy functioning ecosystems. And that’s where we come in – their funding boost will enable us to produce and plant (with volunteer support of course) an additional 10,000 trees by the end of June next year.
Pete Graham from the Northland Regional Council put the application in on our behalf – just about the easiest application I have made – he even paid for the coffee! Top man that. Mind you, we shouldn’t overlook the support which Jon Hampson from the NZ Landcare Trust has been giving us since Day One. He’s the link with the Reconnecting Northland programme which has been supporting us all the way.
Anyway, back to Living Water, if you’d like to find out more about what they are up to, here’s the link to the website: www.fonterralivingwater.com/
A few words about seeds
Currently I am collecting kahikatea seed, looks like a bumper crop this year, and soon will be collecting karamu, ti kouka, harakeke (flax) and karo. With the success of the plants propagated by Nga Rakau, I will definitely be trying them again with some alternative species. I will also be getting some houhere, by seed or by cuttings. If you have any other ideas for suitable pioneer species, and you know where to get seeds from specimens which you know are growing locally, not having been planted there, please do get in touch. I have a strong preference for seed which originates locally, as that should be best adapted to survive locally.
Trees that count
I have also attached a brochure from “Trees the Count”, which is endeavouring to get a handle on how much tree planting is going on around the country. Most of what we grow apart from flaxes would qualify to be counted. It may be of interest to farmers that the basis of qualification is species which are eligible to be counted in the Emissions Trading Scheme. The committee has agreed to participate.