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Autumn Field Day -Southland Community Nursery - Friday, 4th April.
The afternoon began with an address by Richard Bowman,Biosecurity Manager, Environment Southland, who spoke about two research projects that had been undertaken. The first was one on the impact of pest animals on our native flora and fauna, and the second, carried out over this past summer was on 'The State of Indigenous Forest In Lowland Southland.' The latter was a benchmarking project which will enable Envirosouth to go back in 5, 10 years to see how these forests are coping with the pressures of weeds and pest animals, and in some instances, stock grazing.
Richard also talked about the Biodiversity Condition Fund and the possibility of a joint bid by the Regional Biodiversity Co-ordination Group and the Landcare Trust for the position of a Biodiversity Co-ordinator. The other funding application intended to be made is a continuation of the restoration work at Turnbull's Sherwood Forest covenant.

Grey willow - Randall Milne, Biosecurity Plant Pest Officer, Environment Southland outlined a poisoning programme he had undertaken on an area of grey willow ( also sometimes mistakenly called pussy willow as it has similar catkins.) He had nicked and painted the trunk at about 100mm intervals around the trunk low down on a number of trees prior to Christmas, leaving an area as control without any work done on them. The photos taken in February showed clearly the trees had browned off and looked very sick. Looking at them now there were a few with leaves still, however Randall pointed out that Vigilant is slow acting and the chemical could still be taking effect. It will be interesting to watch these trees in the spring to see if there is young growth then.
The Rance's are making good use of the willow in the interim and underplanting with native species. These are coming along well, along with significant natural regeneration as well.

Rats! Nick Rosewarne, Biosecurity Animal Pest Officer, Environment Southland was highly delighted to get his hands on the latest weapon in the war on predators, freeze dried rats. These are said to be twice as efficient as eggs that are the usual bait for ferrets and stoats, and will last in the field for 6 weeks or more. Nick also outlined the range of traps that were available for predator control work. It was with some excitement that he reported the sighting of a tomtit in a lower Mataura covenant where intensive predator control has been going on. For all the time that people have spent in these covenants this is the first recent sighting confirmed. Is this a sign that we can bring these birds back to our bush with predator control? This would have to be a step up for biodiversity across the Southland Plains if we could do this.

Other Field Days Were:

  • 1998 Milligan, DIPTON - a chance to walk the Cayford Track and to hear about the possum control strategy from Envirosouth.

  • 1999 O'Neill Block A, TITIROA and Munro, MOKOTUA - a walk through the small forest remnant on the lower Mataura flood plain, followed by lunch at Kapuka South Community Centre, where Envirosouth had a display on pest management. In the afternoon there was an opportunity to visit the Munro wetland - dams developed in peatland, with regenerating forest areas.

  • 2000 Rance/Gamble, OTATARA - a chance to visit and learn, first at the Rances, who are undertaking an ambitious revegetation programme next to their forest remnant, along with hearing about their Southland Community Nursery and Threatened Plant Garden. Envirosouth took the opportunity to discuss their draft Pest Management Strategy over lunch, and after, Graeme Miller (DoC), spoke about weed control methods. A pleasant and informative walk around the Gamble's boardwalk, moving from podocarp forest through shrubland and into estuarine vegetation, finished the day.

  • 2001 Hopkins, Story, Ayers - Eastern Southland. A look around the forest remnants on these three properties highlighted that no two covenants are the same. From Hopkin's where there was a presence of rata and kowhai high up the hillside, to the large Venlaw covenant, with regeneration at varying stages and a wonderful natural riparian edge along the south branch of the Mimihau Stream, to the comparison between secondary forest and unmilled primary forest on Ayer's.

  • 2002 Kowhai Reach / Taringatura -A success story in more way's than one ! Following a talk at the Kuana Hall about how the meandering Winton Stream with oer a thousand kowhais lining it's banks came to be protected, as related by Roger Sutton, we checked out the Limehills School revegetation site where the first year's plantings are thriving. After moving to Camp Taringatura, we opted to discuss monitoring forest health around the comfort of the fire as the bleakness of winter set in.

For more information contact your regional representative Gay Munro at ntsth@converge.org.nz. You can also check out the QEII National Trust website.

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