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MANGAWHAI'S NO.1 NEWSPAPER
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Spring planting rejuvenates distal spitFor the ‘distal spit’ – that great bank of sand that protects Mangawhai Heads from the ravages of the open ocean – to remain viable, ongoing planting, replanting and sand-fence maintenance is required. Most local people understand this and their huge support on the recent planting days is testament to that.
The latest spring planting was carried out on three days. The biggest was the first on Saturday August 31 when over 7000 spinifex and pingao were planted on the west side of the sand fence line. Volunteer support was outstanding, including 40 people from CauseWay Church, and it was apparent that all enjoyed the day and were impressed by the changes to the spit. The second planting day was Saturday September 7 in the Tern Point vicinity and with the assistance of 15 volunteers, 3000 pingao were planted in about four hours. Final planting was on September 11 when, with the help of six volunteers, a further 1000 plants went in near Tern Point. Department of Conservation rangers Nigel and Tony inspected the planting areas prior to the planting commencing and DoC ranger Elayne Lagnaz attended on all three planting days. Elayne was a great help in steering people away from dotterel nesting sites and at one point her keen observation meant the team had to move 1000 plants to a site further from nesting activity. There is always, of course, rather more to it than just planting. The plants raised in the MHRS nursery had to be loaded into trailers, transported to site via Tern Point and unloaded at the planting sites – all carried out by volunteers. Organising the operation and seeing it to a successful conclusion were MHRS executives Jerry Pilmer, Richard Bull, Trevor Downey, Doug Lloyd, Graeme Smith and Kevin Eddington. And it should be noted that Colin Chitty not only did a great job persuading CauseWay people to participate, he also provided his own boat to ferry volunteers to the site. This was a great three days work with a total of 11,000 pingao and 1000 spinifex planted. Thank you to all who contributed to that effort; it is much appreciated by the Mangawhai Harbour Restoration Society and by a grateful community. ■ With the 2013 planting season behind us, we still need Volunteers for the MHRS plant nursery at Gumdiggers Lane. This work involves tending seedlings – you won’t need to slash gorse, dig post holes or drive a bulldozer, and if you have just a few hours a month to help, that would be really appreciated. Contact the Society’s nursery executive Jerry Pilmer at dj.mjpilmer@clear.net.nz for more details. |
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