FuturEcology & EmGuard ™ September 2022 Update
Hello from the team at FuturEcology & EmGuard ™
What an incredible month it has been. Dunedin shivering in snow last week and Nelson suffering a river of rain three weeks ago.
It certainly makes for interesting, if somewhat challenging times.
Here in Hira, our lovely Wakapuaka River is almost unrecognisable. Whole banks have disappeared, gravel banks have appeared, the river bed is probably a metre higher than it was, with lots of bedrock exposed, making the banks much steeper than they used to be and there is forestry slash piled in every tree the length of the river.
We had over 650 mm of rain in 3 days and our yearly average is about 1100mm. The river had 3 x 100 year flood events in those 3 days and everywhere you look, there are slips on the hills and road sides.
Over the past 3 years, we have planted probably close to 50,000 trees along the banks of the river and in the surrounding catchment.
It was very interesting to see how these plantings survived the flooding. In places, the plants were at least 3m underwater.
The worst damage was where the whole river banks were washed away along with the plantings but some of our older plantings held the banks in place which was so encouraging to see.
The newest plantings surprised us with their resilience. These plantings were done in April/May this year and although they were a little battered and we had to do some replanting, the most important thing we needed to do was just shake the silt of them or remove the debris from their branches and they popped back up again.
It’s amazing how the coprosmas, ribbonwoods and lacebarks held on to the flood debris, but once released, they looked very happy.
It was quite time consuming to clear the plants but vital as it means we haven’t lost one to two years of growth.
Unsurprisingly, the EmGuards were washed off in many cases but that is why we use bio-degradable guards. Sadly we found endless amounts of plastic strewn through trees the length of the river but the biodegradable guards will just decompose, along with trees and slash that were washed down the river. We watched in horror as willow trees the size of buses were ripped out and bashed their way down the river creating beaver dams.
We have seen some wonderful community spirit coming through on the local facebook page with people saying things like “has anyone seen my bridge, the planks look like this” and then lots of locals replying that they had found a plank or two and it would be sitting by their letter box to be picked up.
We were lucky enough to have some wonderful volunteers come out and help with the cleanup, one of them being Ingetje Tadros, who captured the spirit of the cleanup with some gorgeous photos (below). We particularly love the one of Dan, Alvin and Desiah, looking like a 90’s Boy Band on their way to rescue plants.
Our message is keep calm and keep planting. It’s the best thing we can do to save the planet. Thanks to Stuff for this article here.
The lessons learnt and pain from the flood will be ongoing for many years but the community spirit was inspiring and encouraging.
FuturEcology’s response to the Nelson Floods
By Meg Harry & Emma Fryer
There have been some questions raised around whether planting directly next to streams and rivers is the right thing to be doing and the answer to that is YES!
Here in Nelson North, our local awa, the Wakapuaka was running at over 200x its normal flow.
As with the majority of Nelson, we were quick to act on local flood recovery through our planting sites along the river. This saw us spending a week with our whole team, as well as assistance from brilliant local volunteers, the NMIT Trainee Rangers, and Kumanu Environmental. Fortunately, we were able to get through the worst affected areas over the course of that week and it was amazing seeing how many of our established sites survived. A huge relief in otherwise uncertain times.
One of the very interesting things we noted was how different planting methodologies held up to the floods. We have spent years refining our planting methodology here at FuturEcology and have found what we believe to be the most effective strategy. We spade plant where possible and break as much of the earth as we can in a cross shape, without removing the soil from the hole. The plant then goes in and the soil on top is very lightly compacted around the plants base. We do this as it is incredibly efficient, but it also makes it much easier for the plants roots to grow as they are not fighting the rigid walls of a conventional hole.
Robert & Jan frolicking in the mud uncovering buried plants and lost gumboots!
What we noticed on one of our community planting sites, where someone had used the conventional technique of digging a hole and replacing the dirt afterwards was that the water had been through and scoured out all the dirt and the plant and left neat little empty holes behind. All great learning!
Cleaning up the plants and removing excess debris is one of the most important things we could have done after the floods to ensure the survival of our plantings as the plants need to photosynthesize to survive.
During our clean-up efforts, we marked out a small zone to keep for observation. This zone was created to allow us to gain an understanding what happens to these plants if left alone. This will allow us to understand the extent to which these plants are capable of continued growth, without the need of assistance.
As Robert, the Managing Director says, “the interface between water and land is where the magic happens”. Planting next to streams provides shading and habitat which increases the biodiversity of the area while also holding the bank. To quote the popular Chinese proverb, ‘The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second-best time is now’.
Carbon Capture
By Alvin Bartley
As we near the end of our main planting season and approach 50,000 plants in the ground, it is time for these trees to grow tall and capture as much carbon dioxide as they can. These trees are estimated to capture 2,142 tonnes of carbon dioxide in 10 years.
This is the equivalent of the emissions emitted from 6050 trips driving from Cape Reinga to Bluff, or 11 and half trips every week for 10 years.
Carbon Credits are becoming an important part of restoration work and are providing a critical revenue stream that can make all the difference to get projects across the line.
FuturEcology Ltd has been working with landowners to help them understand what options they may have to register within the emissions trading scheme, and whether they are likely to be eligible for funding with their restoration projects.
Contact us if you would like some advice around carbon capture.
September EmGuard™ Update
It is a very good time for EmGuards.
Planting is still in full swing and we have plenty of stock on hand.
Check out how great Seaton Valley looks after full inundation. Not a single EmGuard™ tipped over.
Click here to buy your EmGuards now.
A note from Robert.
By Robert Fryer
This month, I had the pleasure of doing a short course at the Centre For Fine Woodworking in Nelson.
The course was taken by Hape Kiddle, a Kiwi/Australian woodcarver who is working at a very high level in Australia. I would thoroughly recommend his courses to anyone with an interest in wood and sculpture.
Hape’s world view was refreshing and nicely intersected with a book I was reading at the time, Ngā Uruora by Geoff Park. In this, Park laments the almost complete loss of New Zealand’s lowland forest ecosystems.
This book has given me a much deeper understanding of what we have lost, and indeed what we need to do as a nation to rebuild some of what we have lost.
Again, I would recommend this book to all who have an interest in New Zealand’s ecology and history. It is a challenging and somewhat gloomy read, but reading it when I did in conjunction with the wood carving course with Hape, I was able to rationalise and realise that we all have a responsibility for the future our children and their children are going to inherit. If we want better things, then we need to double down on our advocacy for our natural world, as well as work harder to understand what we do still have and enjoy each and every remaining connection with our past.
This month, we also need to acknowledge how this year has been the hardest year to date to be in business, not just for us but for so many small businesses. Cost pressures, as well as labour shortages due to illness have made this year an extremely difficult year to navigate.
Then to have a one hundred year flood event, after two 50 year floods earlier in the year, thrown into the mix as well, has been very testing. The cleanup works from the flood have put us 10 days behind our schedule but our fantastic team are working hard on catching up. By the end of September we hope to be back on track and moving into our summer projects.
We are feeling very optimistic about the future. We have a great team and a number of exciting projects in the pipeline.
Interesting snippets
Without a doubt, Desiah is our most observant staff member. Every day he will find some little gem to brighten the day, whether it be an amazing round stone or an interesting little creature.
The interesting find during the flood cleanup is mentioned in Desiah’s words here.
“I was pulling an EmGuard that was absolutely full of silt off a flax bush while we were doing flood cleanup along the Wakapuaka river. I noticed something flapping around on the ground and so I cleared the silt away and there was a tiny little kōura. He was a long way from the river and sharing his home with an amazing number of earthworms. I took him back to the rivers edge and wished him well on his journey”
We also wish to acknowledge and thank Paul Sullivan, who has been working with us since April last year on a casual contract but recently moved on to another more permanent role.
Paul came to us from the mental health field so had very little experience in conservation work. However, we were so impressed with how he threw himself into learning his plants and the role of conservation. He also provided many a lively conversation about great books he has read while working his way through planting many thousands of plants.
Thanks Paul and we wish you well for the future and hope you still keep recommending good books to us.
Rochelle and Pat’s planting in Havelock North.
Well done Rochelle & Pat. Such a nice job and a real asset for the future.
Before….
…and after!
Meg’s Spinach and Feta Pie
Ideal for an easy dinner or for a couple of days’ worth of lunches (as I tend to use it). This vegetarian pie is a great versatile meal.
Ingredients:
For the base
1 cup oats
1 cup flour
½ cup oil
½ cup water
Wet Ingredients
4 eggs (beat well)
1 pack of feta (reduced salt)
2-3 handfuls of baby spinach
Salt and pepper
Method
In a food processor, blend the flour and oats, then slowly drizzle the water and olive oil into the mixture. The base should be a sticky consistency. Place mixture into a cake tin and refrigerate for approximately 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 170 degrees and place the wet ingredients (well mixed) into the base. Top with Sunflower and pumpkin seeds, with an additional sprinkle of parmesan cheese.
Cook pie for about 35 minutes, checking regularly. Pie is fully cooked when the skewer comes out clean.
Spring has sprung, daylight savings is almost upon us and we are enjoying the pockets of sunshine as they come. Wishing you all a good month ahead and best of luck with the remainder of your plantings.
As always, if you have any great pictures, we would love to see them! Send them to emguard@futurecology.co.nz.