#33, Spring 2001
Appeal Launched for Pehitawa Kahikatea Block
Trust supporters will have received details of an exciting project to secure the permanent protection of an outstanding remnant of lowland kahikatea forest. Situated near Te Kuiti and visible from the Waitomo Caves road, the block is only of 18.5 hectares but crucial for protection. Background information to this acquisition was given in the last issue of CANOPY (No 32). For further information, please refer to our recent Appeal Brochure (extra supplies of which are available from the Trust).
To recap, recognising the opportunity to secure this stand, we made initial enquiries of government agencies, and private groups in the Waikato. Substantial grants from the Nature Heritage Fund, and Waikato Forest & Bird, were acknowledged in the previous CANOPY. With this backing we undertook the purchase, in the firm belief that the funds could be raised. Further grants from Trust Waikato ($11,000), QEII National Trust ($6,000) and Pub Charities ($2,000) have since been received. We are extremely grateful for all this major aid, and for the generous donations from individual and group supporters. Our current appeal has the target of $50,000 to complete the purchase and to provide funds for maintenance work essential to the future well-being of this forest. We hope many supporters will be with us for the opening of this latest reserve on 3 November.
The Trust's Honorary Rangers
In this issue of CANOPY we visit Brian and Andrea Hanna at Mahoenui in the western King Country. The Trust's RAUROA BUSH RESERVE, which they help look after, is a particularly attractive native forest remnant of nearly 300 hectares that forms the northern boundary of the 520ha Hanna family farm.
Both Brian (Northland) and Andrea (Canterbury) are from farming families. Five years after completing a B.Ag. at Massey in 1983, they moved from Northland to Rauroa, where they now farm close to 3000 sheep and over 500 cattle. This is an official monitor farm for their region. Their affinity with the land and with environmentally and economically sustainable practices has seen them: fencing off the Awakino River, retiring and planting erosion prone areas, planting for shade and beauty, stockproofing the bush boundary, intensively fencing for paddock subdivision, and using measured data for farm decision-making. This positive and effective approach resulted in Brian and Andrea scooping the pool in the 1999 Waikato Farm Environment Awards. Their approach that "good environmental management is good business" continues to work well. Both Brian and Andrea are active in their local community.
We are fortunate that the Hannas have worked closely with the Mahoenui Land Care Group to control possums in Rauroa Bush and are progressively improving tracked access to the waterfalls. Brian has also had a mission to minimise the damage caused by feral goats. Sections of the bush boundary that have been progressively patched over recent years now need renewal, and Brian will oversee this operation during the next 2-3 years. Assistance will be sought from Environment Waikato and the National Trust.
Taumatamaire Road bisects the property and provides excellent visitor access to Rauroa Bush. Close to the road is the woolshed complex where the Hannas have converted the shearers' quarters to self-contained visitor accommodation. Just bring your food and linen/sleeping bags and enjoy a special discount for folk associated with our Trust. This accommodation is well located for visits to several other Restoration Trust reserves, including Basil Hewett further up the Awakino River, Awakau Kiwi down the gorge, and the 650 hectare Steuart Russell Reserve close to the coast. Other visits can include tramps in DOC land on the Herangi Range/Whareorino Forest, notably the popular Leitch's Clearing walk. All these areas are fascinating for botanising and bird watching, but if you want different action there is kayaking, trout fishing and whitebaiting available locally when weather and water conditions permit.
Contact Andrea and Brian directly for further details regarding bookings, price etc. Phone: 07-877 8406, e-mail: brian.hanna@xtra.co.nz , postal: R.D. Mahoenui, Via TE KUITI.
Restoring Native Forests to Combat CO2 Emission
New Zealand has a policy of reducing the amount of gases which cause the greenhouse effect, particularly carbon dioxide. But how can this reduction be achieved in practice? An effective measure is to plant more trees and to maintain healthy forests, which for this Trust translates into native forest restoration!
The government science company Landcare Research has launched a scheme with precisely these aims. Under the title Emission/Biodiversity Exchange (EBEX), the new programme will involve partnerships between sponsoring businesses and private landowners. Greenhouse gas offset certificates will be granted via an audit system related to the effective management of protected and restored sites. The Queen Elizabeth II National Trust is likely to work with Landcare to develop and implement this scheme, which holds obvious promise for NFRT given our aims, and our holdings of 5,000 hectares comprising regenerating native forests in the Trust's growing network of 20 reserves.
Working With QEII National Trust
"Open Space" is the informative magazine of the National Trust. In the August 2001 issue, Gerry Kessels, Regional Representative for Waikato & King Country, praises the Trust's achievement as a prolific purchaser of indigenous forest and wetland throughout New Zealand. The article celebrates the recent protection by open space covenants of three blocks in the King Country, totalling 894 hectares with a brief profile of each property. These are our 244 ha Owen Lewis Reserve of mainly tawa forest protecting the Waimahora Stream Valley, Otorohanga, near Rangitoto Station; Rauroa Bush, 290 ha of lowland tawa and hinau forest near Awakino; and the Basil Hewett Reserve of 360 ha which links forest tracts along the Lower Awakino River with the Whareorino Conservation Park. Tributes also are paid to the work of the honorary rangers of these reserves, Lou & Sheryl Jones, Brian & Andrea Hanna and Graeme & Lynn Merchant.
Thank you Gerry for your generous remarks and for help in completing these essential QEII National Trust Covenants over our reserves. All the areas are available for visits and enjoyment. However for access details please contact Gerry Kessels (07 825 9025) or NFRT if you are planning a visit.
The Restoration Trust enjoys an excellent relationship with the QEII National Trust - both through their Regional Representatives and by maintaining contact with the staff in Wellington. In particular, we have close links with the Estate Manager, John Bishop. As part of his work, John is naturally in touch with land owners throughout the country and he has, on occasion, been able to draw our attention to blocks of native bush that might be available for purchase and restoration. Correspondence has been ongoing about two such areas in the South Island. Should negotiations on any of these proceed to the point of purchase supporters will, of course, be advised.
Rimutaka Restoration Reserve - Another Opening
CANOPY readers will recall our 1994 purchase of the 800 hectare block of regenerating bush to the east of SH2, the Rimutaka summit road, north of Wellington. Following this purchase, the opportunity arose to buy an adjoining 350 ha to extend the block as far as the Wellington - Wairarapa railway line. After protracted negotiations, a price of $165,000 was agreed in 1999, with payments spread over three years. Our final payment has now been made, thanks to the success of the 20th Anniversary Celebration Appeal. Besides earlier grants, already acknowledged, we are most grateful for a generous donation of $15,000 from the Eastern Bays Community Trust. With this help, we now own a block of over 1,100 hectares linking the Rimutaka Conservation Park with the Tararua Forest Park, and visible on its two boundaries to road and rail travellers to and fro between Wellington and Featherston. Initial plans have been made for the opening of the extension on Saturday 10 March 2002. We hope to make this occasion another significant event in the Trust's life, to thank especially all our supporters in the Wellington region and to raise our profile in the lower North Island. Further details of the opening will be given in a following newsletter.
Obituary - Andrew Dakin
We were saddened to learn of the sudden death, in June of this year, of Andrew Dakin, one of the founding Trustees of the Restoration Trust at our establishment in 1980. Andrew's principal work was in the Hunua Ranges as Forester in charge. Overseeing the ARA nursery to revegetate the scars left after the construction of the earth dams for reservoirs and developing propagation techniques for rimu and kauri were among his many practical contributions to the native forest cause. Our sympathies have been extended to his wife Alison and their family.