FuturEcology & EmGuard ™ August 2023 update.
Spring lambs and daffodils - my favourite time of year!
By Jan Fryer
A lot seems to have happened since the last newsletter. It feels like more than a month’s worth of activities somehow.
In Nelson, we have been pretty lucky with the weather and so have been planting madly. There is talk of a dry summer coming so the sooner we get plants in the ground and their roots have time to establish, the better. Mind you, we are also juggling around frosts.
There have been a few weeks of frost now, which is a good thing, as it might just give those vegetable bugs and wasps a bit of a hurry along.
We had a wonderful event during Conservation Week, last week, to debut the FuturEcology App Pocket Restoration Aotearoa.
More on that later in the newsletter, but it is an exciting project we have been working on for a few months to help share knowledge we have gained over 40 years in the conservation and restoration field.
Very sadly, we lost our dog, Lily, on Sunday to old age. She has been a loyal companion for 15 and a half years and loved nothing more than being out in the field with us, supervising jobs.
On a happier note though, we have started introducing the next generation of the Fryer family to the joys and challenges of restoration planting. Our wee granddaughter came to visit and her first task was helping to put wool DagMats on a community planting up the Maitai.
A huge thanks to all our team this month for their support, enthusiasm and hard work in making the App a real thing and in meeting the daily challenge of keeping plants going into the ground despite some very cold starts and rocky ground.
Lily supervising a project
The next generation of the Fryer family
Pocket Restoration Aotearoa
By Emma Fyer
We have been keeping a secret and we are so excited that it is finally time to share what we have been working on. FuturEcology is developing an app to re-shape the conservation industry as we know it. The app is designed to support all those planning, doing, and supporting restoration projects.
Last Thursday, during Conservation Week, we had the debut event locally. We were overwhelmed with positive feedback and have come away with an even stronger sense that this is what the industry needs. The app is an interactive tool with quizzes, learning modules, a restoration calendar and more to come. It will assist in growing and sharing knowledge and creating a community of like-minded and inspired people. The app allows its users to work through learning modules with interactive planning activities. Completing the planning activities all goes towards the users’ own personal restoration plan, that can then be used and submitted for external funding if desired. In time, utilising AI, users will also be able to map their projects, creating layered plans to demonstrate the growth and potential of their restoration efforts.
Read my debut speech here to find out a little more about where the app has come from.
The next phase for Pocket Restoration Aotearoa is the trial period. We would like to engage 25 inspired individuals to take part in the trial phase to test the functions, offer feedback and help us get the app ready for its official launch later this year. This is an exciting opportunity that may see you being an integral part in creating the medium that redefined the conservation industry as we know it. If you would like to be part of the trial, please click here to register your interest.
Tod Valley Reserve Planting
By Anna Bradley
We had a successful day replanting this reserve after it was severely damaged in the August 2022 floods. This area was originally planted in 2019 as part of a Reserve Development Plan following community consultation. A shallow stream runs through the reserve, so the focus was on providing shade whilst still maintaining view shafts for the adjoining houses.
Carex secta forms most of the planting close to the stream edge as it stabilises the bank, provides good shade and habitat for tuna and īnanga and will fold down in a flood event. In addition, a mix of shrubs and small trees were selected such as coprosma, akapuka, fivefinger and kōwhai, as well as larger trees such as tītoki, pukatea, tōtara and nīkau which would have been part of the original lowland ecosystem.
The week after we planted, there was heavy overnight rain which washed out a few plants but overall, most survived due to our planting technique and the use of Emguards. Once plants have had about 6 weeks to establish their roots systems, they are less likely to dislodge in a rain event.
Don’t let a flood deter you – keep planting!
Tod Valley - before
Tod Valley - after
EmGuard Update
We have more stock arriving this week and have plenty to help you get your projects underway. We look forward to hearing what your EmGuard needs may be for the remainder of the season and we will make sure your name is on them.
Impact Awards/YES Awards update:
By Emma Fryer
Last month I had some very exciting news that I had been kindly nominated by Trina from the Chamber of Commerce for a Young Enterprise Alumni award. Jan, Robert and I are very excited to head to Auckland for the awards ceremony in September. It will be a great opportunity to connect with other Young Enterprise Alumni and see the great work they are doing around the country.
Young Enterprise Alumni Gala 2023
I have also been very kindly, anonymously nominated for the 2023 Impact Awards and am a semi-finalist in both the enterprise and climate categories. This was such a lovely surprise, so thank you very much to the kind person who took the time to nominate me.
Weed of the Month
Gorse - Ulex europaeus
By Anna Bradley
This is our weed of the month, but sometimes weeds are not all bad.
Gorse (Ulex europaeus) is considered by many to be one of New Zealand’s worst scrub weeds. It was originally introduced to New Zealand from western Europe as a hedge species, but now occupies large areas of the country, reducing the area available for grazing by livestock on pasture land.
It is very hardy, tolerating hot to cold temperatures, low to high rainfall, wind, salt, damage and grazing, and all soil types. It quickly produces vast quantities of seed which remain viable in the ground for many decades, and which readily germinate if the gorse canopy is cleared by burning, spraying, slashing or bulldozing.
But while it’s a terrible weed for pastoral farming, it’s a wonderful nurse canopy for native forest regeneration. This opportunistic plant takes advantage of cleared land but can’t tolerate shade. It shelters young seedlings from the elements, fertilising the soil as a nitrogen fixer along the way. As soon as the trees come through and start to form a canopy, the gorse dies.
Gorse on wetland restoration site in Awatere Valley
If left undisturbed, gorse grows vigorously for its first few years, but after about 10 years it slows to a relative standstill, allowing shade-tolerant natives such as wineberry, fivefinger, lemonwood and māhoe to establish and grow up through the aging gorse canopy, eventually smothering it.
A great example of this is Hinewai Reserve on Banks Peninsula, which, since 1987, has naturally reverted from gorse-covered pasture to native forest under the stewardship of botanist Hugh Wilson. If you would like to learn more about Hinewai Reserve, there is a great article below which includes an interview with Hugh Wilson and a link to the 30-minute documentary “Fools and Dreamers: Regenerating a native forest” by Happen Films which makes for inspirational viewing: Gorse for the trees: How one man brought back a forest | RNZ
Interesting Snippets
Image courtesy taste.com.au
Recipe - Anzac Slice
by Emma Fryer
With the price of groceries at the moment, we are all for creative solutions to save a little extra $ where we can.
Recently I made this Anzac slice to take to work instead of muesli bars and it was absolutely delicious! I also added some sultanas and pumpkin seeds to give it a little extra something, and they were a real treat!
If you have any go to recipes for making lunch a little more exciting, we would love to see them!
Eco-dyeing workshop
By Jan Fryer
I had the wonderful privilege of attending an eco-dyeing workshop through the Motueka Arts Council Winter School this month.
We set out to Marion van Oeveren’s Mahoe Hills farm on a frosty Sunday morning for a wonderful day of creativity. Her workshop is a true Aladdin’s cave, with so many things to see.
Eco dyeing was a new experience for me. Using a range of leaves, we experimented with laying them onto pieces of old woollen blankets, then rolling them up very tightly and tying them up before dropping them in a dye bath. One of onion skins (the green example) and the other in madder (creates a red background). There they boil away for a couple of hours and then when they are pulled out you unwrap an exciting creation. The gorgeous orange colour is from Eucalyptus leaves, bright green from blackberry, blues and purples from coloured carrots, browns from oak and so on.
Interestingly, native plants don’t really create the vibrant colours of some of the exotic plants, but can give you lovely leaf shapes. Everyone got some beautiful pieces to take away and turn into cushion covers or something beautiful.
Nine very happy women went away from a thoroughly inspriring experience and I look at leaves with a totally new appreciation.
It is hard to believe August is wrapping up next week. The days are obviously getting longer though, and we are seeing some beautiful clear days which is feeling very “spring like”.
Spring is racing towards us and that first maintenance round is the most crucial for the success of your plantings. Have a great month ahead, enjoy the daffodils, and give your four legged, furry friends a little extra love from us.
Happy planting!
Here’s to saving the planet one tree at a time.
If you have any photos or stories you would like to share, we would love to hear from you.