Bird monitoring programme along the Whangawehi stream

Posted on January 30, 2015 by whangawehi

The Whangawehi Catchment Management Group is developing a small scale community based bird monitoring programme with local support from bird watchers enthusiasts Dave and Marg Fraser (members of the Ornithologic Society). 5 sites have been identified in different parts of the farm (Taharoa Trust) in order to better understand the birdlife already present and measure the impact of the conservation initiatives over time (habitat restoration and pest control). The traditional 5 minutes count method is used and will be implemented by local bird watchers on a monthly basis with support from DOC and local volunteers. This monitoring programme will expand as the restoration of the Whangawehi progresses.

If you want to learn more about the 5 minute bird count please follow the link :

– 5minutesbirdcount

– Birdmonitoringdatasheet

First trap line inspection along the Whangawehi stream

Posted on January 30, 2015 by whangawehi

Pat and Sue O’Brien in partnership with Grandy Lake Forest have retired 10 ha of riparian margins along the Whangawehi stream. A total of 30000 native trees will be planted at completion of the restoration initiative. Both landowners are thrilled to see the bird life coming back to the site. A small scale predator control plan was put in place on the Taharoa Trust just before Christmas with technical support from HBRC. 10 DOC 200 and 6 Timm traps have been donated by HBRC to the group in order to support landowner’s aspirations. These traps target Mustellids, possums and rats. When successful, this community based pest control programme will expand on the other side of the river on Grandy Lake Forest in order to completely protect 1.5 km of retired habitat and create the beginning of a buffer.

In the meantime, landowners and the Whangawehi Community have to demonstrate their ability to maintain and service the traps while reporting on a monthly basis to the group.Trap maintenance will be done by the landowners and volunteers fortnighly from October to April and monthly from May to September. Traps are located along high traffic tracks for easy and regular maintenance. Reporting is currently done via an online application trap.org.nz. Each landowner is able to login and report via a very user friendly interface. Unfortunatelythe traps haven’t caught anything so far. We will keep you posted!

2 successfull Community days at the Mahia Market

Posted on January 5, 2015 by whangawehi

The Whangawhi Catchment Management Group / DOC tent was a hive of activity on Sunday the 5th and 12th of January at the Mahia market. The team received a lot of positive feedback from many tourists visiting the Mahia region over the Christmas holidays and that’s quite encouraging.

Thank you to the team, you have done a fantastic job : Rae Te Nahu (Secretary), Kathleen Mato (Leader), Arthur Bowen (Water monitoring team), Pat and Sue O’Brien (Land owner), Malcolm Smith (DOC Ranger), Jennifer Scothern (Enviro school Coordinator).

Water quality information for the Wairoa District

Posted on December 17, 2014 by whangawehi

As you probably know, every week during summer (1 November – 30 March) HBRC’s science team monitors 37 popular swimming and recreation spots – rivers, coastal beaches and Lake Tutira. All results are available on the HBRC website.

This extract is just to update you on the latest data and results available for the Mahia region.

Rule of Toe! If it’s been raining heavily, HBRCs’ best advice is to stay out of the water for at least 3 days. A handy guideline is that if you can’t see your toes when standing knee-deep in the water, then water quality is not the best for a swim.

Pongaroa Station restoration project

Posted on December 4, 2014 by whangawehi

Shane Mildenhall, Arthur Bowen, Edward Hammond and Nic Caviale gathered today along the Whangawehi stream to talk about the new fence that will be built in January as part of the Whangawehi Catchment restoration programme.

The cultural report drafted by Mana Cracknel was used in order to identify and protect Wahi Tapu sites.

A big thank you to Shane for embracing our vision and to Arthur and Edward for sharing their knowledge of the area.

Nga Whenua Rahui Audit

Posted on December 4, 2014 by whangawehi

The Taharoa /Grandy Lake Forest project was audited yesterday by Ranui Toatoa, fund manager from Nga Whenua Rahui.

Ranui was happy to see most of the trees looking healthy (98% survival rate so far) and release sprayed. NWR assisted the group in 2014 by offering a large number of native plants (8000) and by funding our community based water monitoring programme. We hope NWR is happy with the work done by the community and wish that further partnerships will take place in

the future.

Nga mihi nui Ranui

Project Whenua available online

Posted on November 26, 2014 by whangawehi

Kia ora koutou,

Our little documentory is now available on the following link and on our communication tab : http://www.maoritelevision.com/tv/shows/project-whenua/S01E007/project-whenua-series-1-episode-7?utm_source=brightcove&utm_medium=button&utm_campaign=share%20this%20video

I want to thank you all for the time and effort you have put into this film. A big thank you to Darcel and her team from Scotties Production who have surpassed our expectations.

Nga mihi nui ki a koutou.

Nic

School workshop along the Whangawehi stream

Posted on November 7, 2014 by whangawehi

Today we travelled by bus to the Whangawehi awa and walked up to the rapids. We were ‘watching and looking’ around the environment to see what we could spot. Some people were helping Matua Arthur with the net to see if we could catch some whitebait. We also found shrimp and cockles. Back at school, we measured the cockles to find out what the prominent size of these was. It was interesting to learn that in comparison to last year, they are smaller. We also used the digital microscope and examined the whitebait closely. It was interesting to compare two different species. Many thanks to Matua Arthur and Whaea Jenni who assisted us with our workshop today and to the whanau that joined us on our walk. Kia ora!

Te Mahia school

Conservation day along the Whangawehi stream

Posted on November 4, 2014 by whangawehi

Conservation day was a great opportunity for the public to wander down the Whangawehi catchment to look at the restoration programme, learn more about the local history and enjoy some spectacular scenaries. A big thank you to DOC, Arthur Bowen our guide and the landowners for allowing us access on their farms.

Kororā and his mates are back…

Posted on October 22, 2014 by whangawehi

kororā the Little Blue Pinguin was spotted last night by the security camera of the Mahia Dairy. He broke into the shop to steal a bottle of French wine and a few tapas! We are looking for any sightings of him and his mates as they could be up to no good. If you have spotted Blue Pinguins in the past (distant AND recent) we would like to hear from you.

Please contact Chef Investigator Malcolm Smith (msmith@doc.govt.nz) or Constable Nic Caviale Delzescaux (caviale@hbrc.govt.nz).

Whangawehi Catchment Management Group

Ki te ora te wai, ka ora ai te katoa – If the waterway is healthy, then everything will survive

Tag Archives: Conservation – Indigenous project – Community- water quality