April 2010 Newsletter
President: Robert Hirschberg Phone 06 364 3680
On Mining the National Parks
What were you thinking Mr Key
When I was very young and bright
My future scope seemed infinite
But now I’m getting grey and old
I see the edges of my world
When my great grandad dug for gold
The world was very big
He could believe there’d always be
Another place to dig.
But now we see the world is small
And not invulnerable at all
Our parks are treasures handed down
There are no more where they came from
They could be damaged, undermined
And in the future we could find
That when they’re gone, they’re gone
Australia’s different, rich and brash
Short on water, big on cash
But we have mountains, lakes and trees,
Living waters, wild and free
We must keep them held in trust
For the folk who follow us
Mr Brownlee Mr Key
Once my Granny said to me
You cannot have your cake and eat it
Now we can’t mine our land and keep it
You say you care for our green brand
Much better care for our green land.
Barbara Simons
Secretary: Belinda McLean Phone 06 364 5573
MINING SUBMISSION TIMELINE
We have until May the 4th to put in a submission on the
government’s proposal to mine schedule 4 conservation land.
We urge all members to make their views heard on this
important issue .
Making a submission is one of the best ways you can help give nature
a voice and protect our national parks and other core public
conservation land from mining.
How to make a submission — It’s easy. You can:
1. Use Forest & Bird’s quick submission form:
Go to www.forestandbird.org.nz/mining
2. Email your thoughts to the Government:
Send your comments by email, preferably in an attachment,
to schedule4@med.govt.nz
3. Answer the Government’s questions online:
Go to www.med.govt.nz/Schedule4
4. Best of all, post a thoughtful written submission to the
Government:
Schedule 4 stock-take
Ministry of Economic Development
PO Box 1473
Wellington 6140Post before 30 April
Key tips in making your submission
• You MUST give you name and address (postal and/or email)
• Try to personalise your submission - explain what the consequences
of the proposal mean to you and how it will affect you personally.
• Ensure you are clear and try to stay on the subject of the proposal
details.
Key messages
• Our protected areas must remain protected – they are simply too
precious to mine.
• All of the areas proposed for mining have outstanding
conservation values, which is why they were originally protected
– let’s keep them that way.
• Schedule 4 was put in place by a National Government to protect
and safeguard the future of our core public conservation areas –
it is grossly irresponsible to attempt to reverse this protection now.
Margarette
 January Pot Luck Picnic Tea
This was held at Holben Reserve, Foxton Beach
as usual.

Our group met at the reserve on a fine, but

breezy evening and after our shared meal we
went for our walk along the sunset path towards
the boat club. On the way there was quite a
drama going on with a pair of lost duckling in the
very green looking pond by the play area. They
were looking very lost huddled together and
cheeping noisily, when fortunately their Mum
flew in to the rescue, much to the relief of our
concerned group.

Just a little further along on the bank a shag was

swallowing an eel. It threw it up in the air and we
could track it as it gradually wriggled down the
throat of the bird.

Along in the estuary we observed all the usual

varieties of birdlife. Some godwits, pied stilts,
spur wing plovers, one spoon bill, a group of black
fronted dotterels, some black backed gulls and
the smaller red billed gulls. Fortunately the wind
had dropped by this time so it was a very
pleasant stroll back to our cars.
Margarette

A fine day for a walk for SeaWeek We contacted KCC members the week before the
walk to invite them along and were pleased with
Otaki Beach turned on a glorious, windless day
the response, given that it has been some time
for our special SeaWeek Beach Patrol on the
since KCC had an event. Our KCC Co-ordinator
first Saturday in March. A party of nine, four
resigned due to work pressure. Several parents
Forest and Bird members and five KCC parents
rang during the week before the walk, and though
and children, headed north up the beach to
unable to come, were keen for their children and
Waitohu Stream. The children were keen
themselves to join in another time. We have
observers of insects on the beach, and also
therefore included another KCC/F&B beach walk
collected shells and driftwood, with one family
in our September
intending to make a mobile using their
programme and will
discoveries.
continue to run KCC
events in
We spotted along the beach two quite large
combination with
groups of red-bills and two of black-backed gulls,
our usual trips, until
including several juveniles. An elegant white-
we can find a new
faced heron strutted along in front of us as we
co-ordinator.
walked along the stream mouth. Here were also
swallows, mallards, pied stilts and a couple of
banded dotterels. Belinda
And another fine day for FishFest
DOC contacted us not long before SeaWeek to ask our
branch to be part of FishFest, a regional celebration of
the week, held at the Manawatu Boat Club on the
afternoon of March 14. Three of us went along to put up
and man a SeaWeek display on the theme of marine
biodiversity.

Our new “Best Fish Guides” and KCC magazines on the

sea theme proved popular with the punters, mainly
families and fishing club members.

DOC’s programme for the afternoon included a marine

mammal rescue training course with Wally the inflatable
pilot whale. Horizons Regional Council did its bit with the
Green Rig on site and a “Sea-lebrity parade”, with children dressed up as something from the sea.
Environmental artists Junk & Disorderly were there to create sea-creatures from rubbish from the beach.

We enjoyed being part of this entertaining and informative afternoon and look forward to something similar
next year. Belinda

OTARI PLANT MUSEUM

Saturday 10th April
This was a combined Forest & Bird and Levin Native
Flora Club outing and we were so lucky to have a fine,
windless autumn day for it. Ten of us (all F&B
members) met at Otaki, shared transport and
journeyed into the Main Entrance at Otari.

Our first stop was the Information centre with its

many displays about the history of the bush and the
plant collections. Then along the canopy walkway, where
we viewed the bush from on high, and further on the
extensive and interesting plant collections from around
the country. There were some pretty lively discussions
about some plant identities but mostly agreement was
reached especially if an identification tag could be
spotted in the foliage.
Lunch was had in a sunny, sheltered spot by the
Cockayne lawn and then it was around the Nature trail
with its numbered posts that correspond with points of
interest along the way.
If you want to see what Wellington bush looked like in
the 1860s there is a viewing point where we could look
down to Wilton Bush, The landowner of the time (Joe
Wilson) had the foresight to fence off many hectares
of land and this remains today as original as you can
get.
High up in the tall trees were many epiphytic plants
such as Collospermum hastatum, Astelia solandri and
Earina autumnalis –one of our sweet smelling, native
orchids in full flower. These epiphytic plants, dubbed
widowmakers, absorb water, become very heavy and
used to eventually fall down on unsuspecting loggers
working beneath. On the way back we climbed over the
rocky path to see the alpine plants and then it was a
quick stop for coffee/tea at Ngaio on the way home
after an extremely pleasant day.

Margarette
 DID YOU KNOW?
Giraffe weevil Lasiorhynchus
barbicornis.

This weevil was observed recently on

the deck railing of the Ohau South Hut.
These weevils are found right throughout
NZ and can grow up to 80mm long, which
makes it the longest of our beetles. Much
of this length taken up by the snout, under
which is a long comb of stiff bristles.
The eggs are laid in holes, chewed by
the female in the wood of karaka,
houhere and pigeonwood.

The larvae that hatch out, tunnel in the

wood, feeding and growing until they are
ready to change into adults.
A Male Giraffe Weavil Photo by Geoff Monk
What is the purpose of those bristles?
Let us know if you have an answer.

Return Address
Horowhenua Forest &
Bird
C/- L. Berger
5 Gordon Place
LEVIN

We would like to thank the Eastern &

Central Community Trust for their grant
which is enabling us to produce our
newsletter in colour.

CENTRAL WEST REGIONAL FORUM

Committee members from the six branches in this
region (from Horowhenua to New Plymouth) met
recently at Bushy Park to talk together and swap
ideas and activities.
In New Plymouth a function was held to acknowledge
a generous bequest to the Society by a Taranaki
member. Rangitikei is continuing the constant
battle with Old Man’s Beard in their five reserves,
and Wanganui people had visited the Maungonui-a-
te-ao River to mark Wild Rivers Day and seen wild
blue duck. Manawatu folk had run a series of bus
trips over the summer for the general public to
special spots in their area. These trips had been
fully booked.
They also explained how they were planning to
revitalise their branch committee, planning for
allocation of all jobs to different people.
Barry Wards, National President, also came and told
us about the ‘Face to Face’ programme F&B is
running this year to seek donations and members
from stalls in shopping malls, in co-ordination with
local branches. He also said they were preparing a
Strategic Plan for the Society to set goals and
decide how to measure success.
It is very encouraging to meet up with other
branches, and hear how we are all working towards
similar ends, getting new ideas and renewing our
enthusiasm for F&B objectives. Joan