News

Approval has been gained to plant 2,300 oioi (jointed wire rush) in Te Hakapupu (Pleasant River estuary, Otago) next month. Information is being sought from restoration leaders and kaitiaki who have experience with planting oioi so that they can design their planting trial in the most useful manner (treatments, replicates, monitoring methods etc.).

They would be extremely grateful if they could capture about 15-20 minutes of your time or, of people in your network: to go through the questions in the questionnaire below. You/they could either write notes and return the file or we could telephone or zoom together for me to record your/their guidance.

Here is a link to the questionnaire and contact details in Word and PDF.

Your help would be much appreciated!

While all of us from CRT were in Wellington recently for our annual 2-day meeting, we celebrated the launch of our first series of videos as part of the Videos and Workshops Project.

These videos were created by our long-term supporters from Southlight, Simon Hoyle and Janet Andrews, with help from David Bergin (CRT trustee) and Jim Dahm (contractor and ex-trustee) and funding from the Department of Conservation Community Fund.

The videos can be watched here or directly on YouTube.

See also our project page.

A new series is being worked on and we hope to have those available early next year.

Winning a Whanganui District Council (WDC) youth scholarship has provided the ideal opportunity for Jake Newton to support Progress Castlecliff’s Coast Care group, by contributing predator traps, boxes, and a huge pot of peanut butter.

Supported by DOC Predator Free Ranger Sanne Brock, Jake has been able to purchase 28 Victor rat traps, 2 Timms possum traps and he has assembled four wooden trap boxes so the Castlecliff trap line can be extended.

Read more here.

Following public consultation regarding the management of Castlecliff and Kai Iwi coastal areas in which ex CRT trustee and respected coastal management contractor Jim Dahm was involved, a report was presented at the Whanganui District Council meeting. Read the newsletter here. In this is a link to the Whanganui District Council meeting where this topic was discussed recently including some PowerPoint slides

Horizons Regional Council has applied for approval to import and release the bud-galling wasp (Trichilogaster acaciaelongifoliae) as a biological control agent for Sydney golden wattle (Acacia longifolia).

Sydney golden wattle is a shrub or small tree. It was introduced to New Zealand as an ornamental plant and became naturalised before 1897. It invades open habitats and scrubland, especially in coastal areas. It can form dense stands that modify vegetation and ecological processes and threaten regeneration patterns.

The biocontrol agent is a small wasp that induces galls in flower buds, preventing the formation of flowers and thus preventing seed production. Galls can also form in growing points, preventing shoot growth.

The Environmental Protection Authority is calling for submissions on this application.

Read more here: https://www.epa.govt.nz/public-consultations/open-consultations/biological-control-agent-for-sydney-golden-wattle/

The deadline for submissions is 30 September at 11:59pm.