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Stuart Park Restoration Project: June 2014
Stuart Park Restoration Project: June 2014
Project
June 2014
Welcome to the second newsletter for the Stuart Park Restoration Project.
Its great to be writing the second newsletter especially as everything we have to
report is positive, from talks with PCC through to the turn out for our first working
bee.
Our working bee was an
overwhelming success and
everyone enjoyed themselves.
In one afternoon we cleared all
the gorse around the entrance
to the park and a large patch
that was threatening to block
access to the two walkways
across the park.
Quirky Kohekohe
Last month a group of us went to view a small cluster of Kohekohe in
the gulley behind the sewage treatment plant.
The first feature that catches everyone's attention is that it flowers
from the trunk! This behaviour is called cauliflore, more typical of
trees growing in the tropics than windy Titahi Bay!
The kohekohe does not flower every year. It flowers early
winter and takes up to 15 months for the fruit to ripen. So as you can
see from the two photos, one tree is laden in fruit while the
neighbouring tree only has clusters of flowers sprouting from the
trunk.
Kohekohe seeds are distributed by the Kereru and proof of this can be
seen in the seedlings found in most reserves in Titahi Bay. Possums
too love kohekoe and can strip a tree of all its leaves, so these photos
are evidence of effective possum control in Titahi Bay.
Never say die, this kohekohe isn't going to give up the fight.
Natures Nursery
You can see in the photo how dry the bank is. A week of gale force
nor westers has stripped all moisture from the soil. We cant plant
this bank until moisture levels have improved.
We may proceed to plant the northern rata first as they are being
planted down in the gulley where there is more moisture in the
soil.
Free offer!
The Stuart Park Project will provide your own personal
block of gorse to trial these tools!
If not happy, you can return the gorse to us at no cost!
Panting the gorse patch by the water trough (if we get more trees).