Nursery Working Bee a huge success

Joanne Youthed reports on the latest working bee down at the nursery, where there’s good things happening! We had a fabulous day at the nursery today, with a great turn out and about 300 plants potted up into PB3 bags!  John and Andrew took 400 plants up to the top of Te Ngahere o TawaContinue reading “Nursery Working Bee a huge success”

Resurgence of kererū numbers in Tawa reserves

Seeds from many native trees rely on kererū for dispersal. With the extinction the huia and moa, kererū are the only native birds with a wide enough mouth to swallow large fruit. These include fruit of karaka, pūriri, taraire and tawa. The North Island kokako can also consume these fruit but their natural distribution doesContinue reading “Resurgence of kererū numbers in Tawa reserves”

Know the native trees in Tawa reserves with Gil Roper – Brachyglottis repanda, Rangiora

Source of names: Rangiora is a member of the Aster family of plants (Asteraceae) and includes asters, daisies and sunflowers. Brachyglottis  means ‘short tongue’ and refers to the small size of the ray florets within the flowers. The species name repanda means ‘undulating edges’ and refers to the margins of the broad leaves. The MāoriContinue reading “Know the native trees in Tawa reserves with Gil Roper – Brachyglottis repanda, Rangiora”

Have you sighted the flowering rātā tree from Takapu Road?

This remaining northern rata was one of many trees of this species, along with rimu trees that dominated the native bush in the Tawa area at the time of European settlement from the 1840s onwards. It’s probably the largest remaining northern rātā in the wider Tawa region. However, trees were felled for local use andContinue reading “Have you sighted the flowering rātā tree from Takapu Road?”

Guided native bush walk, 2pm Sunday 4 December 2022

People are invited to participate in this guided walk, led by members of ‘Friends of Tawa Bush Reserves’ (FOTBR). The walk will be through part of Redwood Bush, from Achilles Close through to Peterhouse Street and include the newly established, signed botanical walk. Depending on time, Larsen Crescent Reserve will also be included in theContinue reading “Guided native bush walk, 2pm Sunday 4 December 2022”

Nursery provides plants and assistance to KETE group

The nursery provided some plants (Harakeke, wineberry, Tī Kōuka and Kōtukutuku) to the KETE group on 18th October, organised by Sue Lum.  Joanne Youthead helped Sue with transporting them and laying them out at Greenacres school, with Andrew Liley to help plant. Great team effort and involvement of our local schools in improving our environment/ecosystems!

Successful launch of new book ‘Redwood Bush, Tawa’

This book, published by Friends of Tawa Bush Reserves (FOTBR) was launched on Tuesday evening 18 October 2022 in the Tawa Community Centre, with over 70 people present. Gary Beecroft, President of FOTBR chaired the evening. Following refreshments, Andy Foster (Patron of FOTBR) spoke on the extensive restoration of native flora and fauna in theContinue reading “Successful launch of new book ‘Redwood Bush, Tawa’”

Signed Botanical Walk now open in Redwood Bush

Friends of Tawa Bush Reserves (FOTBR) has designed, financed and installed signs for a botanical walk that features twenty of the native trees in Redwood Bush. Each sign has text and visual images pertaining to features of the trees for interest to walkers, but also to provide an educational purpose for the variety of groupsContinue reading “Signed Botanical Walk now open in Redwood Bush”