Events

Mini Forest Movement Native Plant Nursery drop-in session at AB Lime

When: First Tuesday of every month, from 4pm to 6pm

All welcome to come to our monthly native plant growing working-bee evenings at the AB Lime Nursery. Your help will go toward growing plants for the Mid Ōreti Mini Forest Movement Project, which provides native plants to the local community and landowners for their planting projects. Training is provided and all ages welcome! Stay for as little or as long as you like.

Castledowns Wetland Planting Volunteer Day

Hi Wetlanders

We have been waiting for the digger to return to remove the rest of the willows, but it will not be back till the end of July. Heather and I had a meeting with AB Lime representatives Brad Gibson and Gabby Wahrlich and Nate Chandrakumarand a drone operator. We need the information from the photos to establish the boundary and the area that will be cleared and will need to be planted in trees

Our next volunteer day is on 7 June and we are hoping to have a good turn out with lots of trees to plant. We will meet at 100 George street at 9 to share transport and will be at the wetland at 10. Please bring a spade, your lunch, afternoon tea to share and warm waterproof clothing.

All friends, neighbours, and grandchildren are welcome.

Please let me know you are coming

Ann Irving 0276569319

Vanishing Nature revisited: are we facing the biodiversity crisis?

Webinar presented by Dr Marie Doole. To learn more about this webinar and to register, check it out at https://eds.org.nz/our-work/events/

Friends of Thomsons Bush Working Bees

Every Wednesday Friends of Thomsons Bush are attacking a number of weed species, from pulling ivy to cutting and pasting barberry, drilling and filling holly and elderberry. As well as this they are planting back in to the areas they clear. If you would like to get involved in this great restoration project, contact Judy at [Enable JavaScript to view protected content]. Check the project out here.

Castledowns Wetland Planting Session

Following the removal of willows along the stream side, there are large areas to be revegetated with natives. We are very grateful to a number of people for making plants available to us. The next challenge is getting them in the ground to compete with the weeds that will also make a come back. All welcome to come along to help us plant more native trees!!

Please contact project co-ordinator, Ann, ph 027 656 9319, if you are thinking of coming. Car pooling can be arranged.

Planting day, Rural Women’s Castledowns Wetland project

There has just been major works undertaken there removing the willows along the river, leaving large areas for replanting. Thiis has made an exciting change to the site and has important implications for management and the restoration plans. They will be planting , spraying and if they have chainsaws they will be working on the North Track beside the stream to restore part of the track. Please bring gloves and tools if you have them.

If you are interested in checking this project out, contact Ann, 027 6569319.

Biodiversity Monitoring for Restoration Success

Morning of the Saturday (10am - 12:30pm). Held at the Riverton Camping ground (as weather was not great!)

A biodiversity advice workshop for community groups and interested members of the public to explain what biodiversity monitoring is, why it is needed to gauge restoration success, what the different monitoring methods can tell us and when they should be used.

Ten keen volunteers attended and this event will be repeated at some point over the next 12 months: contact ES Biodiversity Team if you would like it held in your area.

SERN Autumn Field Trip

This year our focus is on Thomson’s Bush in Invercargill where Friends of Thomsons Bush have been working for a couple of years now, mostly on weed control. Their work has been rewarded with masses of new seedlings of native plants, birdsong galore and even visits from kaka and kakariki.

We will meet at the carpark & playground off Queens Drive at 1.30pm for a tour of the area, following which we will help with one of their major tasks in this area – ivy control. Bags will be provided to put the pulled ivy into, however bring gloves and heavy footwear/gumboots, etc, depending on the day.

Any enquiries or to get involved in the FoTB regular Wednesday morning working bees, please contact Judy at 021 142 7068.