July 2nd- Farms, Developments, and Tree Planting

Today we started out by visiting a local farm where we met Malcolme and Pauline, two farmers who have lived in Lincoln for about 12 years. We spent the morning walking around a portion of their farm and learning about the various plants that were part of the hedgerows. Their farm was unique in that they chose to remove most of the gorse and other exotic plants from their property and planted hedgerows that consist of native plant species. Among these plants were kowhai, lemonwood, kahikatea, rimu, ribbon wood, akeake, and totara. We also learned that the farm used to be home to about 180 cows, but now houses only three. After completing our walk, the couple invited us inside for a short tea time and told us about themselves and shared some of their stories with us. After tea time, we said our goodbyes to Malcome and Pauline and drove down the street to our next stop where we looked at low impact developments (LIDs).

Group photo with Malcome and Pauline

Malcome shows us Kowhai seeds

A cow brush on the farm

 At the first development, we learned about the storm water drainage system  and how it utilized features such as semi-permeable pavement and retention ponds to clean water before it entered the local streams. We also visited a Maori owned development where we saw native species being utilized for the local retention pond and learned how recessed swales can be used to contain storm water.

We walked by Liffey Stream in the first development we visited

 We then had a nice lunch of assorted pies at Hillyers, a local cafe/bakery.

One of the many delicious pies at Hillyers

Chicken and Gravy Pie

After a fantastic (and filling) lunch, we drove to the Mahoe reserve and met with Sue Jarvis to help with restoration efforts and she told us about how the Mahoe reserve was once a landfill and showed us how far the restoration of the area had progressed. After a demonstration by Colin Meurk on how to properly plant the native species, we got to work and planted over 200 native plants. These included species such as New Zealand flax, tree nettle, kowhai, toitoi, bush lawyer, kahikatea, and several others. We then ended the day feeling a sense of accomplishment as we drove back to Lincoln University.

The truck containing some of what we are planting

A preview of the types of native plants we are planting

Colin demonstrates proper planting technique

Isabella and Allison working together on planting

Marta and Tatiana excitedly working

Everyone doing their part at the restoration

A newly planted New Zealand flax

The finished product

We did a lot of planting today!

-Sean