2010 Newsletters

Welcome to the Le Roys Bush Newsletter for November 2010

Dear Le Roys Bush Volunteers and Supporters

Sorry it has been a while since our last newsletter. Here is a reminder about our planting day on Sunday and news of other happenings around Le Roys Bush.

Planting and Unveiling 9.30am Sunday 7 November 2010

Sunday 7 November will mark a memorable event in the reserve. Four new interpretation panels will be unveiled near the track crossing the wetland between Glade Place and Valley Road. The panels explain the ecology of the valley, including its signature birds and native trees, and tell of its history, the interesting lives of our native fish as well as the weeds threatening our bush. Special thanks to Glenda Bostwick, Jo Campbell and Megan Beard for their energy & enthusiam in developing these panels.

All four panels will be unveiled by local MP Jonathan Coleman at this site. (Due to unforeseen circumstances, the panels will not be installed until the following week). We had invited Jennifer Yorke chair of the outgoing Birkenhead-Northcote Community Board to attend but unfortunately she was unavailable.

After the unveiling, you will have the final chance this year to plant in Le Roys Bush, in the wetland below Glade Place. Please bring your favourite spade to help. You may like to wear gumboots or similar as well as gardening gloves and a hat if the forecast is right about the sun. There will be refreshments to follow!

Naturally Smarter programme in Le Roys Bush

Congratulations to Council staff and volunteers for the great work done in the LSB Stream Project as part of the Naturally Smarter programme tackling water and erosion issues on the northern boundary of the Reserve.

For further details of the project, click on the following links to the North Shore City Council's LSB stream project newsletter or go to www.naturallysmarter.co.nz. The newsletter also talks about the plant labelling undertaken alongside the track leading from the boardwalk around the wetland below Le Roy Terrace and up to Onewa Road.Plant names are identified in Maori and Latin. Many thanks to Council for supplying the labels and to Geoff Tisch, a member of Le Roys Bush management committee, who kindly installed the labels. Special thanks to Glenda Bostwick and Jo Campbell for their work on this project and their support of our group.

Other news and thank you's:

A big thank you to the out-going NSCC councillors, community board members and council officers who have provided great support and encouragement over recent years. Your contribution is really appreciated and you will be sadly missed. Thank you particularly to the Community Board for nominating trees which were protected by Council's district scheme before the RMA amendment was passed.
Welcome to new elected representatives and congratulations to those who were re-elected. We look forward to working with you over the coming years. We also look forward to working with current and new council officers whether you are in new roles and locations or continuing to provide the excellent support you have in the past.
The RMA Amendment and bush protection: Thank you particularly to the Community Board for nominating trees which were protected by Council's district scheme before the RMA amendment was passed last year. Our committee will continue to monitor this situation to minimise the risk that the private bush around our reserves will be vulnerable to clear felling from 2012 which could impact on the bush views that we all enjoy. The feedback we get is that the people of Birkenhead love their bush environment and wish to preserve it. However, thanks to the RMA amendment which overrode the district scheme, in many places it may be at risk from developers who buy land just for the profit - not because they wish to share and preserve the community's natural assets as residents do.
Best wishes to Nicki Malone our City Wide Parks Officer who is going on maternity leave. Your hard work and support have been most appreciated - and we look forward to your return to the role you have managed so well.
The Green Network: The Le Roys Bush Committee is part of the "Green Network" - a group that brings together of the various bush restoration groups in the Birkenhead-Northcote Community Facilities' Trust area. Some Green Network news:
- On our behalf, our chair Carol Hosking along with Tabitha Becroft from the Kaipatiki Project accepted an award for the Green Network group's work from the Mayor at the Civic Award ceremony.
- At the last GN meeting on 18 October, the meeting agreed that our rep, Keith Salmon, should initiate a group to promote walkway linkages between bush reserves as well as other "green" linkages and eco-tourism.
- Keith is setting up a consultative group, if you are interested please see the draft notes "Walk-Bike-Ride-Kaipatiki"
The Conservation Volunteers worked on the East of Highbury Project on Wed 3 November planting carexes around the stream, spreading mulch, and preparing for more planting around the route of the planned Highbury to Waterfall walkway. See http://groups.google.com/group/leroys-bush-and-little-shoal-bay/web/recent-activity-east-of-highbury for photos.The volunteers helped tidy up the stacks of bamboo that had spread from below the Westpac Building making it easier for us to foster restoration of native bush.
Keep NZ Beautiful week: We had a great cleanup in Highbury on 19 September as part of Keep NZ Beautiful week - filling a second jumbo bin with inorganic rubbish. Click here for photos.
Little Shoal Bay wetland: We are delighted to report that thanks to a CEF grant from the Auckland Regional Council, our contractor EcoScience has been working in the Little Shoal Bay wetland over recent weeks to control a range of invasive pest plants including pampas, honeysuckle, wattle and willow. He reports that the health of the wetland is considerably improved from previous years. But we still need to tackle the weed seed bank in the area for some years to come.
Very best wishes
Carol Hosking (Chair) and Keith Salmon (Project Manager)
Le Roys Bush and Little Shoal Bay Management Committee

· For other items of interest, see our website: www.leroysbush.org.nz

This newsletter was emailed to people who have indicated an interest in Le Roys Bush and Little Shoal Bay Reserves or related matters. If you no longer wish to receive emails from the Management Committee, please email leroysbush@gmail.com stating - PLEASE UNSUBSCRIBE from LE ROYS BUSH EMAILS in the subject line (not in the body of the email).

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Welcome to the Le Roys Bush Newsletter for June-July 2010

In this newsletter:

· Planting day on 4 July (updates added 2 July)

· Planning for reserves, walkways and trees

· Glow-worm walk in July; Fish Research (updates added 2 July)

Planting bee on 4 July 2010 - upper wetland

Last year we achieved a tremendous step forward with planting in the upper wetland where the three tracks meeting. Last year's planting survived the summer and some recent autumn floods.

This year we are following up with another 400 plants to go in the ground - moving the planting further down the wetland. The aim of the planting is to start displace the kikuyu and other weeds which readily invade this relatively open, well-lit space. This working bee, we'll need to remove some weeds as we go. As the ground is quite wet, gumboots or similar will be essential.

For details of what to bring and the meeting time and place, see Coming events

Spreading mulch in Highbury

Thanks to the Tree Fellas we have received two large truckloads of mulch in Highbury. A working bee on 13 June spread the first lot. A very working bee at 10am on Sunday 20 June spread the second truckload.

See further details on http://groups.google.com/group/leroysbush/web/coming-events

Planting Day on 20 June 2010 at Valley Road

The North Shore City Council is running a Stream Enhancement Project to improve water quality in the reserves, It is working with local residents to control weeds and control erosion by planting native plants around stream catchments.

The planting day at 10am in Valley Road on Sunday 20 June was a great success - planting 100 trees in difficult terrain. Thanks to all who turned out. Click on http://groups.google.com/group/leroysbush/web/coming-events for further details.

Tree and bush protection and planning changes

Highbury Planning Changes and access to Le Roys from Birkenhead Ave

The Committee was represented at some public meetings held in the Birkenhead Library about the proposed plan changes for Highbury (there is the possibility of increased building heights in Highbury and an additional 600 dwellings).

The Committee is lobbying with Council and the Community Board for:

protection of the upper area of Le Roys Bush
improved protection of the Le Roys Bush stream from siltation and pollution with the possibility of introducing rain gardens to filter asbestos and other toxins from roadways as well as preventing overheated water entering the streams where they may adversely affect native fish
access to Le Roys from Birkenhead Ave with a family walkway around the area of reserve where we planted last year; the increased population in Highbury will require improved reserve facilities of all kinds
the exploration and development of a walkway from Birkenhead Ave down to meet up with the waterfall track; this would provide a walking track all the way between Highbury and Little Shoal Bay - a great asset for local residents, schools and tourists

Notable Tree nominations

Thanks to all those people who have nominated trees for the North Shore plan change? The Le Roys Bush and Little Shoal Bay Management Committee did not nominate any specific trees but did make a submission of support for the principle.

Following up on Nick Smith's visit to Le Roys:

You may remember that last year the Government amended the Resource Management Act and has removed some aspects of the protection that the North Shore City Council provided for bush and trees. Nick Smith, Minister for the Environment, visited the reserve with our MP Jonathan Coleman, and gave reassurances that he did not intend the protection to be lost from the zoning around the reserve. However, the legalities of this is not clear. The NSCC has taken a case to the Environment Court for clarificaiton..

Email LeRoysBush@gmail.com or call Keith on 021 240 9414 if you would like to more info.

The Le Roys Bush glow-worm walk

The glow-worm and fish walk on 12 April was stunningly popular - we were overwhelmed by the response!

The next Glow-worm and Fish Walk

Because of the popularity we will be running a further walk on 12 July - but this time we will be limiting numbers and restricting the walk to only those who have registered

For details of what to bring and the meeting time and place, see Coming events

Fish Monitoring

Dr Kit Hustler from Northcote College continues to undertake research into the native fish populations in Le Roys Bush and Little Shoal Bay. He has identified fish which have bred by studying body patterns and weight loss. But some issues remain elusive and the research continues. We are fortunate to have Dr Hustler joining us for the fish walk.

We look forwards to seeing you again enjoying the reserve or helping out on a planting day or planting bee.

Yours sincerely

Carol Hosking

Chair, Le Roys Bush and Little Shoal Bay Management Committee

Email: LeRoysBush@gmail.com

Thanks to our major sponsors: The Auckland Regional Council (EIF and CEF Grants), the North Shore City Council, the Birkenhead-Northcote Community Board, the Birkenhead Licensing Trust and Lion Foundation

Thanks also the the Tree Fellas!

Archive - Le Roys Bush Newsletter for April-May 2010

In this newsletter:

· Planting day on 2 May

· Tree and bush protection

· Glow-worm walk

Planting Day on 2 May 2010 at Valley Road

We will be joining them for a planting day at 10am in Valley Road. As access to this work is over private land, please register for this event - click on http://groups.google.com/group/leroysbush/web/coming-events for further details.

Tree and bush protection

Notable Tree nominations

Do you know of notable trees on residential or commercial property that you believe are worthy of being listed in the district scheme? Particularly any adjacent to our bush reserves?

For more information on how to nominate trees, click here http://www.northshorecity.govt.nz/...NorthShoreNotableTreesPlanChange.aspx

Nominations close on 16 May 2010.

Following up on Nick Smith's visit to Le Roys:

You may be aware that last year the Government amended the Resource Management Act and has removed some aspects of the protection that the North Shore City Council provided for bush and trees. Nick Smith, Minister for the Environment, visited the reserve with our MP Jonathan Coleman to learn from about 35 local residents how much the people who live around the reserve value it for scenic and environmental reasons. At the end of the walk, Nick Smith advised us that the RMA Amendment did NOT remove protection from residential and commercial properties around the reserve. However, the ministry is not so sure - and we are still waiting on a case taken to the environment court to determine what the status is.

We will continue to lobby for the protection of the bush around the reserves. The feedback we get is that many people came to live in the area because of the bush. They do not want to see developers move in and strip the bush on private land around the reserve. If this matter is important to you, we would be pleased to hear from you. Email LeRoysBush@gmail.com or call Keith on 021 240 9414 if you would like to discuss this.

The Le Roys Bush glow-worm walk

The glow-worm and fish walk on 12 April was stunningly popular - we were overwhelmed by the response!

Thank you to all who attended. We hope you had a good time and learned more about the fish and glowworms in our wonderful reserve.

Our apologies to all those who encountered a wait - or who didn't get to see any glow-worms or fish.

The goodie bags were compiled by our volunteers based on donated items. If any family missed out then please email us and we will endeavour to get something to you.

It was great to get positive feedback from so many people on the night and by email afterwards.

Who organised this walk? and why?

This walk was put on by us, the Le Roys Bush and Little Shoal Bay Management Committee, which is run by volunteers who all work fulltime jobs. We ran it to help improve awareness of the bush reserve and its ecological value.

The committee raises money through grants which we apply in the reserve for weed control and the purchase and planting of native plants. In the Year to 30 June 2009 we removed approx. 2,000 weeds and planted over 4,030 native plants.

However we do work closely with the NSCC - for example in providing signs in the reserve to provide information about fish and the plants – so look out for these.

· We would love to hear from anyone who would like to help us in our work

- see http://groups.google.com/group/leroysbush/web/how-can-you-help

The next Glow-worm and Fish Walk

Because of the popularity we will be running a further walk in June - but this time we will be limiting numbers and restricting the walk to only those who have registered. We will also start later - we had originally planned for a 6pm start to accommodate the little children but unfortunately this was too early for the glowworms.

If you would like to register for the next walk, please see the details of how to register on the web page http://groups.google.com/group/leroysbush/web/coming-events. We will email you with the invitations nearer the time.

We look forwards to seeing you again enjoying the reserve or helping out on a planting day or planting bee.

Yours sincerely

Carol Hosking

Chair, Le Roys Bush and Little Shoal Bay Management Committee

Email: LeRoysBush@gmail.com

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