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 does…
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 Māori…
Public Redwood Bush walk, hosted by FOTBR on 4 December 2022
It was such a pleasure to go on this guided walk the other day! The weather was perfect for a wee walk in the bush, and boy did we learn a lot along the way. Gil Roper is a fount of knowledge on the history and plants in this area and we were really lucky…
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 and…
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 the…
Kakariki sighted!
Gil Roper reports that four juvenile kakariki were heard and then sighted in Redwood Bush on Monday morning 14 November, 2022. They were seen by members of the U3A Botany group near the two huge pukatea trees, beside the stream that crosses the track in the gully between Achilles Close and Peterhouse Street. As these…
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 the…
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 groups…
Signed Botanical Walk in Redwood Bush
Friends of Tawa Bush Reserves (FOTBR) has worked with WCC to design and produce a signed botanical walk, that features twenty of the native trees in Redwood Bush. Local Tawa signage company ‘Imagine That’ has made the signs and members of FOTBR will finance and install them. One sample is shown below. Large text and…
A new book about Tawa, available in October 2022
Redwood Bush, Tawa This book will be launched at 6pm on Tuesday 18 October 2022 in the Tawa Community Centre, Cambridge Street. This is author, Gilbert (Gil.) Roper’s third publication relating to Tawa. He was motivated to write this new book: Redwood Bush, Tawa after reading how Redwood Bush was saved when the Redwood subdivision…
‘Beating the Bounds’ in Tawa – Tararua Tramping Club hold day walk in Tawa reserves
Photo of map showing circuit taken: Christine Whiteford On Wednesday 18 May, a group from the Tararua Tramping Club undertook a walk, circumnavigating Tawa using the various reserves. The sunny weather enabled the group to enjoy the great views as well as the vibrant flora and fauna. Leader John Allard, a resident of Tawa for…
Do you recognise these podocarp seedlings?
Podocarps are conifers that reproduce by bearing cones and fruit. The nursery is in full production with podocarp seedlings at various stages of development. These have all been sourced locally from seed or young seedlings that have been subsequently potted on. See if you can match the correct name to the right seedling in the…
Know the native trees in Tawa reserves with Gil Roper – Myrsine australis, red matipo, māpou, māpau
Source of names: ‘Ma’ = free of tapu, ‘pou’ = stick. Young plants are used for ceremonial purposes such as karakia. Special Features an endemic shrub growing up to 6m tall, they are very obvious because of their young reddish-brown stems that bear pale green leaves that have a leathery texture and wavy edgesleaves are…
Kākāriki frequently heard and sighted in Redwood Bush
Kākāriki or red-crowned parakeets are one of three species of endemic parakeets found in NZ. The name means ‘small green parrot’ because of their predominantly green plumage. They make a loud rapid chatter in flight and also chatter and babble when feeding. Such sounds have been regularly heard, especially at the north end of Redwood…
Know the native trees in Tawa reserves with Gil Roper – Geniostoma ligustrifolium var. ligustrifolium, Hangehange, Māori privet
A common shrub up to 3m high, it is commonly found at the edge of bush and along the tracks. Leaves are oppositely positioned along the slender, brittle stems. The oval, elongated and soft, shiny lettuce-green leaves have ‘drip tips’ at the end. Source of names: Genus: genio = hairy and stoma = mouth. The…
FOTBR receives Tawa Community Civic award
FOTBR was one of the recipients of this award in the ‘Heritage and Environment’ category. Owing to Covid-19 restrictions, an awards ceremony will not take place, but people have been notified and recipients listed on the Tawa Community Board Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/tawacommunityboard The voluntary work undertaken by FOTBR, included: the development of a new walking…
Know the native trees in Tawa reserves with Gil Roper – Melicytus ramiflorus, māhoe, whitey wood
This is one of the most common sub-canopy trees in the Tawa native bush reserves. Source of names: Genus Melicytus. From Greek ‘meli’ = honey and ‘kytos’ = hollow container. It refers to the staminal nectaries of the flowers. (‘honey cave’). Species = ramiflorus meaning flowers are borne from branches. Māhoe. ‘Ma’ = shame, ‘hoe’…
Puriri moths – an extreme life cycle
Pūriri moths (Aenetus virescens or pepe tuna) are New Zealand’s largest endemic flying moth. Larvae hatch on the bush floor and feed on fungi. Then they climb tree trunks such as pūriri (hence their name) and burrow into the trunk where they live for several years. Pūriri trees only have a northern distribution in the North Island.…
Tentacled stinkhorn fungi in Redwood Bush
Previously recorded in Redwood Bush in 2019, these were observed by Gil in December 2021. The stinkhorn/starfish/sea anemone saprotrophic fungi are seasonal and usually reddish-orange in colour. They grow on rotting wood and emit a foul-smelling odour to attract flies which enables dispersal of their spores. The slimy, brightly coloured fruiting bodies emerge from an…
Progress on the irrigation project at the nursery
Joanne has reported on some exciting happenings down at the nursery. James has set up the pipes in the shade houses while (ed. still cast-clad) Joanne put the “foggers” together – whilst sitting on one of the couches in the Menzshed kitchen. James returned and set up more pipes, and they actually got the system…
Know the native trees in Tawa reserves with Gil Roper – tree fuchsia, kōtukutuku
Reputed to be the largest fuchsia in the world it grows up to 15m. The Genus name Fuchsia is from the German botanist Leonhart Fuchs, (1501- 1566). The species name excorticata means ‘loose barked’ while tukutuku means ‘letting go’, so both names refer to the peeling bark. It is an ‘oddball’ NZ native tree because…
Pest control in Tawa reserves in 2021
Denis Rogerson on Pest Control Denis reports that as for 2020, Covid-19 restrictions meant that there were fewer checks undertaken than they would have liked. However, a significant advancement in 2021 was completing the task of transferring manual records as far back as 2016 to an online data base called Trap.NZ. This has the advantage…
A rat taking the bait
Below are some photos, taken from a trail camera, of a rat taking some bait from a possum bait station. As an essential part of the pest control program, it’s great to have some visibility of these stations in action. Unfortunately rats are very good at climbing trees and stealing the eggs of our beloved…
Know the native trees in Tawa reserves with Gil Roper – Thread fern – pānako
Blechnum filiforme or Icarus filiformis or pānako or thread fern is the most common, but unusual ground fern in the Tawa reserves. Its unusual features are that it is the only climbing species of Blechnum in New Zealand and it has three different types of fronds – juvenile, adult sterile and adult fertile. Blechnum species…
Know the native trees in Tawa reserves with Gil Roper – Tawa
The tree after which our suburb is named. Beilschmiedia tawa or tawa is a dominant canopy tree in the Tawa native bush reserves. The Genus name Beilschmieda is after Carl T Beilschmied (1793 – 1848), a Polish botanist. The species name tawa is a Māori word meaning ‘to be purple’, relating to the colour of…
What do Kererū eat in Winter?
There is minimal seed and fruit available from native trees in winter. Kererū frequently supplement their diet by consuming tree lucerne and young kowhai leaves which are both high in protein. Also when these plants are flowering, kererū take nectar from flowers. These birds are vital for dispersing the seed of large fruiting trees such…
Know the native trees in Tawa reserves with Gil Roper – Kawakawa
Piper excelsum (Kawakawa) Piper = pepper and excelsum = tall. Kawa = bitter. A few metres high in lowland bush, kawakawa is endemic to NZ. Recognition features of kawakawa: heart-shaped leaves with a palmate vein patternleaf petiole is flattened at the baseleaves often have holes, caused by a nocturnal looper caterpillarmale and female flowers are…
Completed lower track in the Forest of Tawa/Te Ngahere-o-Tawa
During June and July, WCC contractors undertook significant work, developing a new track, finally compacting the surface to enable stability of the surface. During this work, some windfall pine trees were cut, while native tree seedlings were repositioned near the track. Throughout the process, John Burnet and Andrew Liley maintained a watchful eye on proceedings…
Know the native tree species in Tawa reserves with Gil Roper – Kohekohe trees in winter
This is sometimes called ‘the funkiest tree’ in our native bush, with its white flowers in winter that grow directly from the trunk. The flowers provide a nectar source for tūī and korimako (bellbirds) at a time when other food is not as abundant. In some years, a strong sweet aroma is evident in the…
Know the native tree species in Tawa reserves with Gil Roper – Mamaku or Ponga?
Two of our most common NZ tree ferns, are both prevalent in the Tawa native bush reserves. Mamaku Our tallest tree fern, reaching up to 20m, mamaku (black tree fern/Cyathea medullaris) has distinctively black, scale covered koru as the fronds unfurl.The fronds extend up to 5m and can be as thick as a human arm…
Know the native tree species in Tawa reserves with Gil Roper – Kanono
Kanono or Coprosma autumnalis —– previously named C. grandifolia —– Kanono is a common shrub, up to 6m found in shady, damp and sheltered parts of all the native bush reserves in Tawa. Recognition features of kanono: plants are dioecious (have separate male and female plants). Male flowers have dangling stamens that produce pollen while female flowers…
A possum caught
Andrew Liley reports a possum capture in a Pest Free Tawa trap Andrew advises this possum was caught in a Pest Free Tawa trap he maintains close to the south Tawa motorway interchange – great catch Andrew! “I had just reset and rebaited my three traps on 23rd June before the level 2 announcement and was passing one…
A further stoat
In his role as Pest Control Coordinator, Denis Rogerson reports another stoat capture, but this time in Mexted Reserve, in May 2021. Great to see this work being so effective. Our precious native birds will be so much better off for one less powerful predator out there. Awesome work. You can read more about stoats…
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