MCC Updates
What’s Been Happening Since our Winter Newsletter
It’s been a big few months across the catchment. Here’s a look at what MCC has been up to.
Pest Management Group
The Pest Management Group had their last meeting on August 4th, and will meet again on October 13th. They are a cohesive, knowledgeable, committed group working steadily towards their goals, supported by MCC’s coordinators.
Stage one of the Haycocks Bush OMB control project, lead by Bruce Stare, is close to finishing. The last community working bee is planned for October, and there will also likely be some contractor foliar control work.
This project has been a real positive for a number of reasons. It has demonstrated the ability for MCC and its team and volunteers to follow this project through to completion resulting in a huge impact on this precious piece of bush. Secondly, it has also trained up many community members and landowners with the skills to be able to do hand OMB control using the cut and paste technique on their own properties. Thirdly it has developed a solid base of volunteers for other potential catchment enhancement projects.
And on that note, the PMG are eyeing the next job, potentially an area next to the Great Taste cycle trail, along with managing the Old Man’s Beard across the river from Haycocks. The former will once again require the help of community volunteers, and will help improve the amenity and biodiversity of the cycle trail. Details are still developing about these projects.
The trapping work continues. There are now 160 rat traps out across Motueka township with further traps likely to be disseminated at a Sunday market later in the year. A new trapping project has kicked off at the Motueka Delta alongside iwi. These coastal traplines are enabling a greater level of joining up of traplines right along the coast.
Out at Shedwood Bush the team along with the volunteers out there have caught over 200 possums, and many other predators. That project’s now being handed over to the Shedwood Bush Betterers with the support of Tapawera Connect to carry on. Plenty of connections and project ideas came from the Sam the Trap Man event held at Shedwood Hall in August, including connecting in with students at Tapawera Area School.
There are also plans by MCC to get into more trap building to continue to expand the trapping network across the catchment, getting more landowners further up the catchment involved.
There have also been talks from Sam “the Trap Man” Gibson in Tapawera and Motueka, and a farmer-focused predator and animal pest control day is coming up in late November with Beef + Lamb New Zealand, more on that below.
Huge thanks to the volunteers keeping all this ticking along, especially Bruce Stare, Steve Holloway, Jacob Lucas, Paul Leach, Paul McEntee.
Biodiversity and Restoration (BAR) Group
The BAR group, led currently by Annette Litherland has also been continuing strongly. They met in August to discuss progress and upcoming plans and actions.
Big news here: a nursery closing down handed over roughly 85 trays of native seedlings, more than 12,000 plants across 30 species, which have been redistributed to community nurseries, school nurseries and landowners across the catchment, with community nurseries and school programmes first in line. Some of these seedlings will be supported to grow with the help of potting mix funded by the Lions Foundation.
The Trees That Count application has been submitted on behalf of 16 landowners across the catchment. You can read the story profiling a number of landholders restoration plans.
Two hundred trees have gone in at Haycocks in a collaborative event between BAR and the PMG. The “Growing Natives at Home” online session, now recorded and online, had strong viewing numbers and offered plenty of handy tips and tricks. BAR group members are hoping to support the DOC community nursery Monday sessions to keep the connections with the nursery.
There’s also a new push starting around rare and naturally uncommon native plants, working with local experts to figure out what’s worth propagating and where seed can be sourced, tawa, hīnau and tānekaha among the species on the list. And with a wetland restoration event and a hands-on weed control workshop both being planned, there’s plenty more to look forward to from this group over summer.
The Nurseries in Schools programme continues at Tapawera and Brooklyn, Tapawera’s going really well, Brooklyn’s building more slowly.
Freshwater
A new contract has been locked in for Kate Radloff to keep supporting our water monitoring groups across the catchment, including to run a number of SHMAKers events. Early results from the Waiwhero monitoring, initially thought to show poor water health, have since come back more positive once updated data came through, and that catchment is now shaping up as a genuine focus for restoration work ahead.
From the Coordinators
Dana and Lucy have had a full few months, from the Willow Field Trip out at Hinetai Hops (which even caught the attention of Top South Now) to prepping this Friday’s Flood Risk & Insurance webinar, part of the Nelson Tasman Climate Forum’s Climate Action Festival, with strong sign-ups already. Lucy’s also been deep in sub-catchment work, progressing the Greenhill process and getting ready for the Dove sub-catchment meeting on Wednesday 30th alongside Boffa Miskell and TDC, as well as helping drive the Waiwhero Lowland Reforestation pilot forward.
Big thanks to the Top of the South Community Foundation, whose funding is kicking off our new Riwaka Trapping Group. And keep an eye out for Lucy’s BUPA Junior Landcare project, getting rangatahi out engaging with the whenua, more on that as it develops.
Our Steering Group also met in September, welcoming new member Steve Holloway and reflecting on just how far MCC has come as an organisation, there’s a lot of great mahi happening across the catchment right now. The team’s also been pulling together our workplan for the year ahead, keeping a clear focus on the Catchment Plan’s goals and priorities.
What’s Coming Up
Confirmed events:
- Old Man’s Beard working bee — Sunday 18 October
- Ngātimoti Festival — Labour Weekend, come find our stall
- Getting On Top of Predators and Pests, a collaboration with Beef and Lamb New Zealand with Cam Speedy — Thursday 26th November, Stanley Brook
- Beyond the Canopy Conference (Tāne’s Tree Trust) — 16–17 October, Nelson
Events being scoped and confirmed:
- Motueka Sunday Market Stall – date TBC
- Scoping and confirming a number of BAR related events – wetland restoration, seedling pricking out, managing weeds.
- Pre-Christmas celebration event – watch out for details
Other work and engagement:
- Sub-catchment engagement in the Dove, Waiwhero and Greenhill
- Riwaka trapping group — kicking off early October
- Website updates and summer newsletter
Ngā mihi nui to everyone putting in the hours, on the ground and behind the scenes, that keeps this catchment moving in the right direction.