Liz August 20th, 2024
As a continuation of her film “Waitītiko from Source to Sea” Carolyn Sylvester has produced a short film where Roy Clements talks about the history of the Roy Clements Treeway, and Mount Albert, Auckland. A tribute to Roy, and to all our kaitiaki who have cared for Waitītiko Meola Creek over the decades.
Many thanks to Carolyn and to Roy.
The video is also available at https://vimeo.com/979817251/8b72c2b7ad.
Mary Cooper May 30th, 2024
The last few weekends have seen a few planting and weeding activities up and down the creek.
STEPS is very grateful for funding from the Albert-Eden and Waitematā Local Boards to get these projects up and running. Local board members Margi Watson, Alex Bonham and Christina Robertson all turned up on various days, rolled up their sleeves and got stuck in to get the actual work done.
Planting at Roy Clements Treeway
A couple of Saturdays were spent putting in some enrichment plants at Roy Clement Treeway. Including the wetland, and on the true left bank of the creek where the creek is not shaded, which affects stream temperature.
Conservation Volunteers New Zealand Weeding
CVNZ came in to give us a hand fighting back privet at Norwood Reserve. We spent a couple of hours cutting it back to allow light in on the planting we did last year and the seedlings which are springing up.
Planting at Kanuka St site
370 plants went in behind Motat at the Kanuka St site. If you’d like to have a look you can walk down to the end of Moa Reserve and look across the creek. A mixture of tarairi, manuka, puriri psuedopanax, titoki, mahoe, and other species suitable for lava flow forest and also for the wetland area.
The Pt Chevalier Air Scouts will shortly be planting out the last remaining block which will join up their existing plantings and STEPS plantings. A historic moment!
Mary Cooper May 2nd, 2024
Kate McKessar from Whitebait Connection paid the Motat Lava Flow Forest site a visit and searched her way through clumps of oioi and grasses with bravery and enthusiasm. With success! She found inanga eggs in the grasses. We hadn’t realised the breeding area for inanga extended so far towards the sea. It’s encouraging to see this native fauna in this habitat and will influence the species we plant on the riverbank. We’ve also moved some traps closer around the area as rats and mice are partial to inanga caviar.
It’s great to work more closely with other groups who care for the environment, have specialist knowledge and are working region-wide.
