Adieu Edward

Last week, the WCMG was sad to hear the passing of Edward Hammond. Edward ran several workshops with Te Mahia School around Matauranga Maori themes. His expertise in Rongoa and carving was appreciated by all the students. Edward really enjoyed interacting with the young ones and his passing leaves us with a huge loss.
Edward was also part of our water monitoring team and assisted the group in developing a cultural survey.
On Wednesday the 5th of April, Te Mahia students will plant a Totara above the Whangawehi bridge in remembrance of Matua Edward.
Adieu Edward

IMG_3012 IMG_3010IMG_1381Transfert of local knowledge

Transfert of local knowledge

Whangawehi winter planting programme

Hi all,

The WCMG is proud to release the new winter 2015 planting programme. Volunteers are invited to partake to the Whangawehi Restoration Programme during two week ends and on two different sites. An over night stay on a Marae is offered for those wanting to do a little bit of work on the Sunday morning.

We are all looking forward to seeing you there

Poster available here : WhangawehiPlanting2015

When and Where :
16th and 17th of May (Taharoa Trust – Pat and Sue O’Brien : 1637 Mahia East Coast Road)
13th and 14th of June (Pongaroa Station- Shane Mildenhall : just above the Whangawehi bridge)
Postponed to the following week ends in case of bad weather (updates on whangawehi.com).
Time :
8.30 am start – just turn up!
3.30 pm End
4.30 Sausage sizzles/dinner at Tuahuru Marae
Over night stay at Tuahuru Marae (free of charge) including:
– Accommodation and food on the Marae (Saturday night)
– Breakfast and packed lunch for the Sunday.
Please RSVP with Rae Te Nahu 068375537, 0278045149 or rae.tenahu@xtra.co.nz
Signage:
Planting sites will be signposted on the day from the Mahia Beach Road
Bring :
Sturdy shoes, hat, dress for the weather, rain or shine
BYO lunch and drinks for Saturday
Bring a sleeping bag/sheet/pillow for those staying overnight
Contacts :
Taharoa Trust : Pat and Sue O’Brien 068375687 or psobmahia@gmail.com
Project Coordinator : Nic Caviale 068388527 or caviale@hbrc.govt.nz

Release spraying at Whangawehi

16 000 native trees have been release sprayed yesterday to stop the autumn grass growth around the trees. Over all, all the trees look very good with some good growth hapening after cyclone Pam’s rain events. Part of the trees are already above grass hight and won’t need releasing. The smallest trees will need caring in October 2015.

Whangawehi well represented at the Iwi Fishing Conference

On the 24th of March 2015, the Whangawehi Leaders were invited to the International Iwi Fishing Conference in Auckland and asked to explain how Iwi can engage positively with agencies in resource management.

The Wai Maori Trust, whose role is to support and promote iwi management of waterways, is supportive of this collaborative approach and uses it as a template to showcase how collaboration between iwi/hapu and agencies can lead to positive outcomes.

Well done Kathleen and Rae for doing us proud.

Update on the water monitoring programme at Whangawehi

The temperature loggers, lent by HBRC for a combined water monitoring programme, have been removed from 6 different sites in the Whangawehi catchment. These loggers have been recording since December 2014. Once analysed, the data should allow the community to better understand temperature variations during the warmer months of the year. The data recorded is part of the bench mark monitoring undertaken to measure the impact of the restoration programme on the water. High temperatures are a limiting factor for the development of a wide range of micro and macro organisms.It will be intersting to review the data in 5 years time when the trees planted last year have grown and started shading the stream.

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Pongaroa Station fenced off on both sides

Thanks to the support of M. Fay, Shane Mildenhall and sponsors, the Whangawehi river is now completely fenced off on Pongaroa Station. In 2013, Pongaroa Station fenced off the true right side of the stream at their own cost. The WCMG funded this year the fence on the true left side and is glad to see this part of the project completed. The next step will be the establishment this winter of 30000 native plants.

Well done to you all.

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Trap lines along the Whangawehi stream

The recent trap checks along the Whangawehi river was quite encouraging with 4 hedgehogs and one rat caught on Grandy Lake Forest and two hedgehogs caught on Pat and Sue O’Brien.

Traps are monitored every second week and rebaited with deshydrated rabbit meat. The data is logged into a custom made booklet and kills are entered by the landowners into a data base (cloud application : trap.org.nz). Monthly reports are presented to the Whangawehi Catchment Management Group Committee and Hawkes Bay Regional Council.

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Invitation to the Maori Fishing Conference

Kathleen Mato and Rae Te Nahu had the privilege yesterday to receive and invitation from Doug Jones (representing Te Wai Maori Trust) to the Maori Fishing Conference in Auckland on the 24th of March. Kathleen and Rae will share the story of the Whangawehi Catchment Management Group and illustrate how working under a collaborative approach can be extremely rewarding.

Te Wai Maori Trust is a long term supporter of the restoration programme undertaken in Whangawehi and we feel privilege to be able to share our story to a wider audience. Tena koe Doug.

Conference summary :

This year’s Māori Fisheries Conference 2015 is about recognising what it takes to be ‘IN FOR THE LONG HAUL’. If iwi want to keep hauling in the net – TŌTOIA TONUTIA TE KUPENGA – we must act fully as kaitiaki, achieve environmental, social and cultural sustainability and ensure the continued abundance of our ocean resources – TE TINI A TANGAROA.

If you want to know more about the conference, please follow the link :  http://teohu.maori.nz/conference/index.htm

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Pest control on Grandy lake Forest

Yesterday, Graham Douglas Forest Manager for Grandy Lake Forest set up DOC 200 traps along the Whangawehi river and chew cards in order to target pest control effort. Graham set up a project on trap.org.nz and will be reporting to the committee on a monthly basis. Traps will be monitored every 2 weeks in the summer and monthly in the winter. Thank you for this collaboration.

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