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Hi folks, we are traveling on the Banks Peninsula with very spotty Internet. Aside from some wet weather this morning we are having a great time at Hinewai. Look for two posts tomorrow to cover today and tomorrow. - meryl : )

June 24th - On The Road To Akaroa

We are off on our first road trip. Destination - Akaroa on the Banks Peninsula.

We started the day at the local Lincoln Market (farmer and arts market for our small village of 5,000).

Next, we stopped at Lake Ellesmere (Te Wai Hora - Wai is water in Maori) (the third largest lake in New Zealand) before tea time at Little River where we also had time to look at the Art Gallery and Artist Coop, and, some sheep near the parking lot.  And we picked up a yummy home made bread.

Then up a curvy hill to a spectacular view (even in the low cloud) out across Barry's Bay and Robinson's Bay to Akaroa.

Next stop, Barry's Bay Cheese shop for some artisan cheeses and quince jam to sample with our bread.

We stopped next at Onawe Pa Historic Reserve for lunch with beautiful views of the bays and lava rocks.  Of course we had to take a little time to explore and check out the little snails and fiddler crabs.

In the afternoon we went out in Akaroa in search of Tuis.  Tuis were no longer found on the Banks Peninsula after 1980s because of habitat loss.  They were reintroduced in the last few years into Hinewai Preserve, and much to the delight of locals, have established themselves.  We were so lucky to see many after just a few minutes of looking for them!

There rest of the afternoon was spent enjoying the views of Akaroa, snooping around in the shops, and getting settled in to the backpackers.

Tomorrow, we get to go to Hinewai!

Sweet Dreams Everyone, Meryl : )

June 23rd - Restoration & Travis Wetland

We started the day with a lecture from Colin about restoration ecology. Building up on yesterday’s introduction on New Zealand’s History and Nature, we learned more about the threats faced by the NZ ecosystems, which can be either natural (stresses) due to extreme conditions, or human-caused  (disturbances) due to land use changes, introduction of invasive species, etc. Since NZ native species have long evolved without non-natural threats, they are more vulnerable to disturbances and frequently lose the battle against invasive species. In this context, conservation and restoration have very important roles in order to facilitate regeneration and succession, regaining the structure and functionality of native ecosystems.

Colin highlighted three thresholds to consider to achieve successful restoration: abiotic, biotic and socio-cultural; improving habitat conditions but also building stronger bonds between communities and nature for preservation in the future. He also mentioned the importance of a good planning, implementation procedures, and monitoring programs, learning continuously and adapting to the new conditions through adaptive management.

After the lecture, we went to Travis Wetland Nature Heritage Park, the last freshwater wetland in Christchurch and home of many native plants and birds. There, Colin showed us past and ongoing restoration projects, as different succession stages of the planted native vegetation were visible.

Protecting the growing native plants from disturbances

Invasive willow trees serve as nurseries for the growing native plants

Learning to identify the main native species from the best specialist 

The Pokaka (Elaeocarpus hookerianus) has two different phases of growth: bushy (below 2m aprox) and leafy (above)

We also conducted point and transect bird counts, from the bird hide and along the walkway:

Counting birds from the brid hide

Black swan (Cygnus atratus)

Observing the different bird species in the Travis Wetland 

To warm up a little bit after a drizzly walk at the Travis Wetland, we stopped at The Naked Baker for the tea time, and then we headed to the beach to collect some shells and play with the zip-line:

On the way to the beach

Zip-line: The rain could not stop the fun

Cheers!

~ Marta.

June 22 - Riccarton Bush and tea time x2

Today we left Lincoln at around 8:15am to the Landcare Research Manaaki Whenua where we met with botanist Collin Meurk. Collin gave a lecture on Natural and Cultural Patterns within New Zealand. The Maori name for New Zealand is "Aotearoa" meaning land of the long white cloud, in reference to how the Maori could detect there was a land mass when they found New Zealand. We learned about New Zealand's broad climatic zones which explains their relatively even temperature and mild winters. Afterwards, we stopped at Coffee Culture for a quick tea time before we headed to Riccarton Bush. On the property there is a beautiful mansion which was built by the Dean family in 1850-1860, in addition to Canterbury's sole remnant of kahikatea floodplain forest. This tranquil grove is separated by a predator proof fence characterized by fine mesh to prevent small rodents from entering, a canopy to prevent animals from climbing over, an electric wire to prevent mostly people from entering during after hours, and an apron underground to prevent intruding burrowing animals. We strolled through the forest whilst learning information from Collin, and after we had lunch before we headed off to explore Christchurch city. We spent some time shopping and of course left some time for a second tea time at C1 Coffee. Then we journeyed back to Lincoln and ended the day with ice cream in the T.V. room with Dr. H and Collin.

Riccarton House.

Predator proof fence

Lots of learning with Collin, Savannah pay attention!

Erika smelling Lemonwood/Tarata leaves- if you crush the leaves they smell like lemon!

One big Kahikatea tree!

A vine from the Passionfruit family.

The Stiff Stemmed Coprosma has a juvenile growth phase where it starts out like a bush and once it hits a few meters in height it becomes more leafy like a tree.

Street art in downtown Christchurch.

Tea time at C1 coffee whose menu featured some witty comics!

Cheers, Tatiana

June 21st- Gross Gorse and rosemary cookies in Purau Bay

Today began at about 9am with a 50 minute drive to Purau Bank on the northern side of the Banks Peninsula. We started the day's activities at the home of our lovely host and landowner, Jo Ewing, and learned about the Banks Peninsula Conservation Trust from covenant officer Marie Neal. Jo treated us to delicious homemade rosemary cookies, banana bread, and tea and coffee to get us kick-started for the day while we listened to Marie talk about the management plan we would be helping with for the rest of the day. The trust helps landowners, like Jo, create a sustainable management plan for their covenant land to protect native biodiversity with accurate land surveys and connecting them to ecologists and volunteers (like us) to carry out useful management techniques that will help make their land the best it can be for local species of fauna and flora. We also had an in depth safety session with Sophie, the volunteer coordinator for Banks Peninsula Trust, and learned about what plants to avoid, like the New Zealand Tree Nettle, and what to do in case of an earthquake or any other emergency. After that, it was out into the wilderness to help save some native trees like Kanaka and Kowhai from the grips of invasive vines and invasive Gorse, as well as mend some fences to stop stray sheep from overgrazing the covenant. We split up into teams and got serious work done before breaking for our first delicious lunch provided by Lincoln University. After lunch, we went in search of Gorse and found a massive area that needed to be destroyed to save native the flora, to which our whole team promptly finished within 30 minutes of aggressive weed-hacking. We finished the restoration by having a second tea time at Jo's house and learned more about the botanical artist and thanked her for her hospitality. We ended the day exploring the actual bay of Purau Bay, holding crabs, finding Abalone and sea glass, and birding until we went back to the Gator Waka. To which we promptly realized needed jumper cables to start, and got some more time on the beach before Meryl came to the rescue with a local named Rick that had jumper cables and a big strong truck (note: new battery now in Gatorwaka)! The Gator Waka came back to life and we made it back to the University in time for dinner :)

Some photos of the day:

Jo Ewing's beautiful home (and place of tea time with rosemary cookies)

The management plans by Banks Peninsula Trust, with information on maintaining Jo's property and making prime habitat for the Karearea (New Zealand Falcon), New Zealand Bellbird, New Zealand Fantail, and Miromiro (Tomtit), all favorites of Jo.

Plant specimen of the New Zealand Tree Nettle, or Ongaonga in Maori, which was everywhere and to be avoided. They are very good for the property, though, as they are native and are the favorite food and shelter choice of Red Admiral butterflies.

An illustration by Jo. After the 2010 earthquake in Christchurch, many people throughout the city and surrounding areas put flowers in traffic cones as a sort of memorial for the lives lost. 

The ancient rain dance, "Fence" performed by Sophie. This helped us straighten out our chicken wire to keep out some greedy sheep from grazing on the covenant.

Lunch and free time after some hard work. If you look closely, you can see each person in their natural state (i.e. me, Camila Leon, frowning at not being able to I.D. a bird or Tupelo enjoying her fruit and talking to Meryl)

The before picture: SO MUCH GORSE! All of us went to town (especially Erika) on this invasive species.

The after picture: All our blood (not really), sweat and tears paid off, featuring a wild Anna inspecting out handiwork.

The home base for clusters of Gorse Spider Mites. Marie told us about how they were extensively tested before they were brought in as a potential biological control for the Gorse in New Zealand. They suck the plant dry, but not fast enough. According to Marie, they look like little balloons under a microscope. 

Some interesting finds on the covenant. A sheep jaw, some natural rocks, and a couple of birds' nests. We also found a New Zealand Fantail nest later, and gifted it to Jo.

The gorgeous shore that was home to mud crabs, Pied Oystercatchers, Mallard and Mallard-Grey Duck Hybrids, and New Zealand Cushion Stars.

-Camila

June 20th - Low Ropes, Lectures, and Letting Loose

Most importantly, we all got good sleep our first night!

The weather gods have been kind to us and we enjoyed a beautiful sunny morning getting to know each other and bond over low ropes team building activities.  We successfully tackled many challenges from speed ball to cross town traffic, and are just really happy we got untangled from our human Gordian Knot.

Gordian Knot

Crossing the hot chocolate river on marshmallows

Cross Town Traffic

After lunch, it was lecture time with housekeeping items, and an overview of conserving biodiversity and what it means to different stakeholders (e.g., farmers, landowners, biologists, etc.).

Reviewing our course manuals and learning about what conserving biodiversity means to different stakeholders

Ah, we can get used to tea time : )

After dinner, we experienced some Kiwiana - Pavlova, L&P, and Flight of the Conchords.  Then we played Heads Up (charades) before going on to town to check out the nightlife.

L&P, World Famous in New Zealand

Heads Up

Pavlova with whipped cream that we made!

Tomorrow, we will meet some of the stakeholders and get to work with our first conservation project!
Until then, Sweet Dreams All, m : )