Diary these Dates
March
- 27th - The Real Cannons Creek - Saturday morning - Easy Fitness Guided Walk; free, but bookings required
- 27th - Tree Care - on Saturday morning
- 28th - Human Birds Programme 2 - Making seedballs - Sunday morning - small charge, bookings required
April
- 24th - Tree Care - on Saturday morning
May or June
Current Activities
- Summer - Guided Walks - Free [ More … ]
- Human Birds Programme [ More … ]
- Summer - Tree Care Programme [ More … ]
- Prepare planting pots and tree collars aka "Glenview working bee" [ More … ]
- Other Weekday Options [ More … ]
Summer Guided Walks
Bookings: phone Sylvia Jenkin
on (04) 237 4760
All walks are free events. Bookings are essential.
Please phone Sylvia Jenkin on (04) 237 4760.
What to bring: a backpack with a waterproof jacket, water, snacks, sunblock. Wear tramping boots or strong lace-up shoes, use sunblock and a sunhat.
Next dates:
Saturday 27th March: 10am to 12 noon - The Real Cannons Creek - human impact on the stream - Easy fitness
Follow the course of the stream with the Friends of Maara Roa guides, hear its history and view the human impact from Maori times to today. Harakeke (flax) weaving demonstration, bush restoration.
Meet at: Cannons Creek Entrance to Belmont Regional Park. Suitable for families.
Getting there: Exit SH1 at Mungavin interchange, Porirua City, and follow Champion St for about 2km, to the Cannons Creek entrance to Belmont Regional Park, next to the Cannons Creek Shopping Centre. Regular train and bus services to and from Porirua Railway Station connect to Cannons Creek Shopping Centre.
Extra information is
- on these maps of the area and routes, as well as
- more background information about guided walks.
Human Birds Programme - a 3-step Forest Restoration event
Help spread the good seed of our forests - just like the birds.
Thanks to the pioneering work of the Kiwi Conservation Club in this region, we now know that restoration of difficult areas can be hastened by throwing seedballs - imitating the birds who are New Zealand's main regenerators of the forest.
This 3-step event is for anyone (adults and kids) who would like to learn about this method, for use not only at Maara Roa, but in other restoration projects.
Participants need to book for all three steps:
- seed collecting and preparation
- making seedballs
- throwing the seedballs
Registrations close on Friday 12th March. Programme Fee: $10.00, to be paid on arrival on Sunday 14 March.
Dates:
Sunday 28th March: 9.30am - 12.30pm - Human Birds Programme 2 - Making seedballs
Those who attended on 14th March, will meet to use their collected seeds of native trees to make seedballs; then in May/June we have fun dispersing the seedballs.
Sometime in May or June: - Human Birds Programme 3 - Throwing seedballs
On a day in May or June (date to be advised) we'll have fun throwing the seedballs into difficult areas.
More details: To be advised.
Summer Tree Care
A new seedling with its plastic protection from hares and rabbits; and cardboard collar to reduce weeds and retain soil moisture.
In gardening terms, tree care means weeding, staking and mulching, pruning - particularly those trees planted in the last 2 years.
Next dates:
- Saturday 27th March at 9.30am - 12.30pm
- Saturday 24th April at 9.30am - 12.30pm
Just as your flowers and vegetable plants need regular attention by weeding, staking and mulching, so the young trees in the "Long Garden" (Maara Roa) cannot just be planted and abandoned.
The Tree Care Programme for Maara Roa means visiting every tree planted in the last 2 years:
- assessing its health
- applying or removing the hare protectors (which prevent hares and rabbits eating and killing the seedlings)
- applying cardboard collars (that help prevent weed growth around the seedling, and keep moisture in the soil)
- inserting or removing white-tipped bamboo marker stakes (used to find seedlings among future grass and weed growth)
- applying a support stake to trees on exposed windy slopes
- removing support stakes once the trees are established
We even prune back the tree lucerne, our rapid-growing exotic shelter crop, to reduce the likelihood of wind damage and to keep it in control.
This work is carried out in summer, autumn and spring, while planting is carried out in the winter and early spring only.
And the more Tree Care we do, the better the survival rate of our young trees.
Where: Volunteers meet at Brandon Intermediate School, Driver Crescent, Porirua at 9.30am and down tools at 12.30pm.
The school gates are locked while we are working, so park on the street if you arrive later or want to leave before 12.45pm.
What to wear and bring:
- bring your favourite secateurs, pruning saw, or lopper if you have one
- if you don't have any tools, please come anyway, as we have some tools you can use
- if you wear work gloves, bring those
- you may need a jacket (wind-breaker)
- sturdy shoes/boots or gumboots (it can be muddy)
- Morning Tea provided
Preparing planting pots and tree collars aka "Glenview working bee"
Making plant pots from milk cartons;
tree collars from used cardboard cartons
Join a group doing easy yet essential tasks:
- recycling milk cartons into plant pots for use in the Nursery, and
- making tree collars out of used cardboard cartons.
Next dates:
- Saturday 10th April at 10am - 12 noon
Where: our Workshop-Storage room at Glenview School, Bedford St, Porirua.
Tools supplied, ample workspace, refreshments provided.
How frequently: once a month, the morning of the second Saturday.
Other Weekday Options
Can't come on Saturdays, but free during the week?
During Winter plantings, and Spring & Summer tree care, we think there may be many folk who could come on a Tuesday or Thursday, weekly or fortnightly, and give a few hours.
Are you retired, a part-time worker or not in employment, a parent with time while children are at kindy or school?
We would like to create a group of people like you to plant during the week.
Want to offer to help? Get in contact with Coordinator Sylvia, at ph. (04) 237.4760 or sylvan@actrix.co.nz.