Little Blue Penguin

At School on Wednesday, our day started off by watching a short clip about the Blue Penguin population numbers on Banks Peninsula being restored. The people living on the peninsula had completed extensive trapping for predators and built burrows for the penguins to breed in. Malcolm Smith then told us lots of facts and information about the Blue Penguin, where they live, what they eat, and what makes them different from other penguins. From here we rehearsed the ‘Penguin Song.’
After morning tea we split into three groups; burrow construction, arts and crafts, penguin science and research. During the morning all of the children had completed all 3 workshops. Many thanks to Whaea Jenni Scothern and Matua Arthur who came to support our tamariki during the day. It is always amazing, the resources and energy people bring to Te Mahia School and the engagement and motivation our tamariki show. There will be a display in town in the Hammer Hardware front window of all of todays learning. Do watch out for it!

On the 8th of August, Te Mahia school students built 12 nesting boxes for the smallest Penguin in the world. The Little Blue Penguin used to breed in the Whangawehi estuary until the 60s. Te Mahia students intend to do their best to try bring back the noisy but emblematic bird. In September, the nesting boxes will be installed along the Whangawehi stream amongst a growing forest of flaxes and native trees. A netting will protect the sites from dogs and traps will be laid in order to keep predators at bay.

A big thank you to the community for their commitment and patience during the building phase, a few adults’ thumbs came quite close to the hammers handled by the younger ones!

On the 18th of July, Department of Conservation Associate-Minister Nicky Wagner and Conservation board members came to Mahia to attend a presentation of the Whangawehi Catchment Management Group.The aim of the Hui was to give Ms Wagner and the Conservation Board something to take away with them and potentially recreate similar model for other parts of the country.

The WCMG felt priviledged to host this event and thanks Ms Wagner and the Conservation board for the effort they made in coming to Mahia.

Wairoa Star article :Associate minister visits WhangawehiJuly2015

Te Mahia students gathered in early July for a weaving and carving workshop. This workshop was run by the local community that supports the school programme.  This year a new activity was offered  and all the students enjoyed shaping clay. The next workshop will take place on the 8th of August, the theme will be building an artificial burrow for blue Penguins. Thank you to all the locals who got involved.

Due to a bad weather forecast for this Saturday, the community planting day planned on the Taharoa Trust has been postponed to the following weekend 23 and 24th of May. The team is disappointed as a lot of work went into preparing this very special event. We want everybody to be able to enjoy safely this community day and the bad weather coming from the south will compromise that. I hope you understand. We are looking forward to seeing you on the 23d of May, same place, same time. Please RSVP with Rae Te Nahu 068375537 or rae.tenahu@xtra.co.nz.

For any inquiries, feel free to contact Nic Caviale on 068388527, 0272645460 or caviale@hbrc.govt.nz

Our apologies

The team has been very busy preparing the site over the past few days. EIT students joined us today to give us a hand…much appreciated as there is so much to be done.

A big thank you to Pat for mowing the site and Malcolm and Simon for transporting all the trees down to the river.

On the Pongaroa Station front, thank you to Shane and Malcolm Smith from DOC for providing a great watering system for the trees stored on Pongaroa Station. The fire pump and the sprinklers did a fantastic job.

WEATHER UPDATE : the forecast for the week end is not looking promising. A decision will be made Thursday evening regarding a possible postponement (following week end). Please check out the blog for update and thank you for your support.

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Dates for the diary: On Sunday 4th  & 11th January 2015 between 9am and 12pm the Whangawehi Catchment Group will have a tent at the Mahia Seaside Market showcasing:

• restoration programme
• water monitoring programme
• Environmental school programme with Te Mahia school
• pest monitoring programme that is about to start in the New Year

There will also be an opportunity to register your name and email address with us so we are able to contact you regarding, dates, times and possible cancellations & postponement dates of community planting days in 2015. Members of the Whangawehi Catchment Group will be available to answer questions and explain more about what is happening in the Whangawehi Catchment.