Welcome to the second newsletter for the Stuart Park Restoration Project.

Its great to be writing the second newsletter especially as everything we have to

report is positive, from talks with PCC through to the turn out for our first working
bee.

Our working bee was an
overwhelming success and
everyone enjoyed themselves.
In one afternoon we cleared all
the gorse around the entrance
to the park and a large patch
that was threatening to block
access to the two walkways
across the park.

At this stage this is the only
outright gorse clearing we
intend to do.
All the remaining clusters are going to have trees planted amongst them, utilising
the gorse as a wind break.

We are planning to meet with representatives from Ngati Toa to discuss any
cultural and historical issues relating to the whenua (land). During these discus-
sions we hope to come up with a more appropriate name for the project.
Does anyone know who Stuart Park is named after?

As keen as we all are to get planting
there are two issues holding back the
start date. First we are yet to meet
formally with the PCC reserve team
and secondly at time of writing the
soil on the gorse bank was nothing
more then powder due to a lack of
rain and high winds. Even with last
weeks rain, only the top 10cm of
soild probably holds any moisture.





Stuart Park Restoration
Project
June 2014
Rata vine climbing Rewarewa
Gulley of Mahoe and kohekohe behind treatment plant.
Sculptured branches of Kohekohe
Kohekohe in fruit (500 M south of Stuart park)
Thanks to all from the Stuart Park
Team.

Email stuartpark@titahi-bay.co.nz for
updates on planting days.
Quirky Kohekohe

Last month a group of us went to view a small cluster of Kohekohe in
the gulley behind the sewage treatment plant.

The first feature that catches everyone's attention is that it flowers
from the trunk! This behaviour is called cauliflore, more typical of
trees growing in the tropics than windy Titahi Bay!

The kohekohe does not flower every year. It flowers early
winter and takes up to 15 months for the fruit to ripen. So as you can
see from the two photos, one tree is laden in fruit while the
neighbouring tree only has clusters of flowers sprouting from the
trunk.

Kohekohe seeds are distributed by the Kereru and proof of this can be
seen in the seedlings found in most reserves in Titahi Bay. Possums
too love kohekoe and can strip a tree of all its leaves, so these photos
are evidence of effective possum control in Titahi Bay.

Kohekohe is the only representative in New Zealand of the tree genus
Dysoxylum which is otherwise only found in tropical and subtropical
regions of the world. Kohekohe is a close relative of true mahogany
and is sometime referred to as New Zealand Mahogany. How does a
tree found in the tropics get down to New Zealand?









Ready for Planting...

We have cut tree tracks
into the south east gorse
bank ready for planting.
This track is on the
steepest part of the bank
with gorse only provid-
ing .5 M of shelter. The
lower part of the bank has
much higher gorse
providing a good 1.5 M of
shelter.

You can see in the photo how dry the bank is. A week of gale force
nor westers has stripped all moisture from the soil. We cant plant
this bank until moisture levels have improved.
We may proceed to plant the northern rata first as they are being
planted down in the gulley where there is more moisture in the
soil.

Kohekohe in full fruit - growing behind the treatment plant.
The sculptured branch's of kohekohe.
Never say die, this kohekohe isn't going to give up the fight.
Kohekohe seedling spotted in Tuna Trc
Reserve, less then 50 M from Stuart
Natures Nursery

Last week we potted up
another 60 Ngaios.
We didn't get them from any
commercial nursery but from
under a Pohutukawa outside
the Wellington railways sta-
tion! The tree is a starling
roost in the tree and has
hundreds if not a thousand
of cabbage tree, ngaio and taupata seedlings under it!
If you want to see kohekohe in flower, they can be seen on the
Colonial Knob walkway just meters in from Camp Elsdon or up
the gulley behind the treatment plant.
Do Kereru like reduced cream with their kohekohe seeds?
A bowl of seed destine for a seed tray in our nursery.
Stuart Park Restoration Project

Contact:
John Hornblow
ph 236 8624 (evenings)
email stuartpark@titahi-bay.co.nz


Conservation Power Tools

If youre planning to get involved in conservation projects, a set of quality tools
will save you heaps in time and energy over the years to come.
The following tools are recommended for being ergonomically efficient,
unbreakable and designed to last you a life time.
While each is designed for a different role, they share one common trait, they
are all made of real STEEL, not cheap alloys or plastic.
They are not the cheapest tools but you can be assure you the price will be
forgotten in years to come as yet another track is cut into the gorse and another
season of planting is over!








Photographic evidence of early Maori / European interaction
around Stuart Park.
Neilson Collection ref: kai.time.5.hrs
While not cheap, these pruning loppers from
Levin Sawmakers make short work of any pruning
job. What's more you can get replacement parts for
all of their tools. Check out their forestry catalogue.
The Atlas Trade planting spade is unbreakable! I've used one for years
and many times its been used like a crowbar to chip holes into rocky soil.
Another brand of quality planting spades is Spear and Jackson.
Free offer!
The Stuart Park Project will provide your own personal
block of gorse to trial these tools!
If not happy, you can return the gorse to us at no cost!
Working Bee Jobs...

Jobs Done
Gorse Clearing around entrance to park.
Cutting planting tracks into gorse bank.

Jobs Pending
Planting Northern Rata
Planting the gorse bank with Ngaio and Taupata
Panting the gorse patch by the water trough (if we get more trees).
Potting up another 100 Taupata (koha of potting mix most welcome!)
Mana Island Rainfall
Why are we holding off planting after receiving rain just the other day? Take a look at how much rain Mana Island got last month. What's
more there were gales for over a week peaking at 126 Kp/h. This evaporated even more of what little moisture was in the soil.