Category: Planting and management

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Things Aucklanders can do to help the Hauraki Gulf

Inspired by some recent conversations, I put together this list (in no particular order).

Things Aucklanders can do to help the Hauraki Gulf

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Pohutukawa

Cloning Pohutukawa makes sense if you’re breeding them for a specific purpose. In my case erosion control. I just want Pohutukawa that are great at holding onto cliffs.

Pots

This cloned Pohutukawa worked. The one in the black pot had no rooting hormone and failed. This was my second try, the trick is to snip between the hard & soft wood.
This cloned Pohutukawa worked. The one in the black pot had no rooting hormone and failed. This was my second try, the trick is to snip between the hard & soft wood.

It’s growing slowly tho. While my seedlings are doing great.

About 400 trees, many of them ready for planting.
About 400 trees, many of them ready for planting.

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Pest Monitoring

Monitoring Tunnel (S6) Selwyn Bush 24 March 2114

Monitoring cards Selwyn Bush March 2014
Monitoring cards Selwyn Bush March 2014

Selwyn Map

MY IDs: Using this guide
S1 –
S2 Rat
S3 Rat & Hedgehog
S4 Hedgehog
S5 Mouse
S6 Mouse & Rat (confirmed by Camera Trap)
S7 –
S8 Rat
S9 Rat
S10 –

This gives us a an Autumn result for 2014 of 56% Rat, 22% Mice, and 22% Hedgehog.

Wax Tags
Wax Tags Small
These are only ones with marks, note S10 had no wax tag. I assume because of the ink markings and camera data they were both mouthed by rats. I am surprised there is any wax left on S6 given the amount of times the rats ran unto/past the tag (camera observations). On further inspection I think S6 is the only conclusive rat bite. Next time we should leave these out for 7 nights.

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Shell Drop

Shell DropAwesome day building a shell habitat for Fairy Terns in the Kaipara.

Also made some signs
Fairy Tern Nest Site

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Philosophy

I found this old thing on my hard-drive. Might help me get focused.Why I should dedicate some serious time to Biodiversity
I think the obvious answer is a wetland because those environments were hardest hit buy farmers. Tho interestingly I do not know much about threatened wetland species. Our rivers and shorelines face a lot of commercial & recreational pressure. A wetland also sits at an interesting intersection:

  • When I visit forests I hear a lack of quality in the silence (lack of bird life)
  • When I drive through the countryside I see a lack of quality in the monotonous monocultures.
  • When I kayak in NZ, the water feels empty. I think for me — quality is biodiversity and the water is overfished and often polluted.

It would be magic if I could fill all three buckets with one hose.