First of all many thanks to everyone who came to help at last month's Working Bee. Lots of small - and not so small flaxes were removed from near to the boardwalk through the wetland; weed control was done in the plantings at the start of the boardwalk and Taumaihi track got a tidy up as well - great work!
No doubt some of you will notice that some of the large flaxes have been removed from near the walking track further along the walkway. More work will be done by RDC/Castlecorp in the new financial year to remove more of these flaxes, especially along the fenceline, as they are a problem for the farm manager, shorting the electric fence in places. They have been an on going issue for LO - no one particularly likes having to trim them back, and we will have less large flax plants to worry about in the future. Landcare Okareka will then plant the fenceline with manuka and kanuka to form a screen to the farm and to try to slow down run off coming off the farm. At least kanuka and manuka are easier to trim back from the edge of the track with a motorised hedge clipper! And the flowers provide bees with food!
This week we have two Working Bees happening:
1. Thursday 23rd April 2015 - some very kind Rotorua ANZ Bank staff are coming to help with building the new track from 10 am to around 2 pm. If any of the Landcare Okareka volunteers are interested to come to help we would love to have you - LOCA will be providing lunch. Meet at the DOC camp car park from 10 am. Please wear suitable clothes and footwear, gardening gloves and bring any of the following tools: grubber, spade or shovel, rake, loppers, pruning saw. Bring your drink bottle. Can you please let me know if you will be coming for catering purposes? And if anyone would like to help me get the lunch ready, can you let me know please?
2. Main Landcare Okareka Working Bee - SUNDAY 26th April 2015 (Please note change of day as Saturday is ANZAC Day) from 9 am to 12 noon.
We will meet at the Acacia Road jetty/ramp area at around 9 am to travel on the barge to Silver beach on barge. Bring a life jacket if you have one. Please wear suitable clothing and footwear, gardening gloves, drink bottle - tasks: fixing a picnic table in place, pruning vegetation at the toilets, track work out beyond Silver beach. Please bring any of the following: spade, grubber, rake, pruning tools. We will take a water container - to top up drink bottles, and morning tea.
Hopefully we will see many of you at this working bee.
Kind regards
Sandra Goodwin
Secretary
Landcare Okareka