FuturEcology & EmGuard ™ April 2024 update
By Jan Fryer
That feeling of change is well and truly in the air at the moment, especially with daylight saving ending last week. We had our first fire, which always marks the change of season for us. I am loving the magnificent autumn colour as well.
I was out this morning, clearing ditches and channels from around our workshop as the rain poured down. What a welcome sound it was, but hopefully it continues to just fall gently and soak in a bit after a summer of drought conditions here in Nelson and Marlborough, and probably much of the country.
We are watching the forecast with both hope and trepidation as to what a “river of rain” might mean for all of us.
A good rain will be very welcome however, as it wil allow us to get our planting season underway. We are itching to get started, as it is what we enjoy the most about our job. Recreating habitat, restoring sites from weed-infested wastelands to a rich, biodiverse haven for our flora and fauna. The whole team gets such a buzz from a day planting and standing back to see the transformation.
As always, good site preparation is the key to any successful planting. So if you haven’t started on your site preparation, now is the time. We like to start with a good clear site, as it gives the newly planted plants the best chance if they are not competing with weeds and grass. It will also make your maintenance programme much easier.
There are a range of options from scorched earth to a gentler approach, that might just be clearing a metre or so in which to plant each plant. Time spent on your site preparation will, however, pay dividends. One of my favourite tools at this time of year (or any time for that matter) is a scrub-bar, fire risk permitting. You can grind off the cover to ground level to create your planting space and follow this with a spray if you are happy with spraying. Be very mindful of what sprays you use in your planting area. Check the manufacturer’s instructions for withholding periods. We had a close call recently with trying to clear nut sedge from a planting site. We were about to use a chemical that is recommended for it, but found it had a withholding period of a whole year before we would be able to plant.
Mechanical preparation is also good if you can access the site easily. We went to a site recently that had had old willows removed from a stream edge with diggers. They had done a great job and we have a good clean site to restore with stream plantings. It’s always funny when we go to a site like that, and we are admiring the soil and the barren appearance. Anyone listening to us would probably question our sanity at times, but the planters out there will know exactly what we mean.
It sounds like nurseries have good supplies of plants this year, but don’t leave it too late to get your orders in to ensure you are getting the right plant for the right place.
As a reward for a hard day’s planting preparation, put your feet up, grab a hot drink and enjoy some of the best TV you can see with “Mr Bates Vs the Post Office”. More about it further down.
Introducing Tyson
As the planting season ramps up, we welcome a new team member, Tyson Turner.
Tyson comes to us with a wonderful history of being connected to the bush and the land. He grew up in Northland and spent many happy hours in the bush and by the sea, hunting, fishing, looking for rocks and tramping.
He moved to Nelson to do the Trainee Ranger course at NMIT in 2022 and has taken on board a whole range of great skills to continue in his conservation journey.
We are thrilled to welcome him and his passion for nature to the team.
Weed of the month
By Shaun Burton
Pampas Grass - Cortaderia selloana
Originating from the lowland Pampas region of southeastern South America, this species is often confused with the native Austroderia sp./ Toetoe.
When mature, it forms large clumps up to 4 metres high. It is a hardy grass that tolerates heat, frost, salt, as well as both wet and dry conditions. It also recovers quickly after fire. It can grow in areas with moderate-shade and in low fertility soils and therefore can pop up in a wide range of locations.
It is identifiable through its fluffy, white-pinkish flowerheads which form between January and June and produce massive amounts of wind-borne seeds. The flower heads look very similar to that of the native toetoe but are more erect, larger, and fluffier. Jan always describes them as “like a Roman centurian’s helmet”.
Another distinguishing feature between the two is the leaves, of which toetoe have distinct secondary veins between midrib and edge while pampas displays only the midrib but does not have the secondary veins. A good example of the two leaves is shown in the photos below with the toetoe shown on the left and the pampas shown on the right.
Toetoe
Pampas
Tree of the month
plateauville iNaturalist, 2019
By Dan Arnold
Grey Salt bush -Atriplex cinerea
Found in open coastal areas, boulder beaches and salt marshes in the Waimea estuary of the South Island. Historically found in the Wellington region, Palliser Bay and D’Urville Island.
A low, sprawling shrub, the grey salt bush has grey, narrow semi fleshy leaves with reddish stems. It can form mounds of up to 1.5x4m.
Grey Salt bush is vulnerable to coastal erosion and browsing animals. Browsing by hares has been an issue with recent restoration planting.
Planting at Challies Island wetland is well under way!
By Alvin Bartley
Our team has made wonderful progress towards planting 39,000 native plants this winter as part of our collaboration with Fulton Hogan. Despite the drought conditions, we have started planting aquatic rushes around the wetland's littoral margin which are planted at ground water level.
The project seeks to naturalise a wetland following gravel extraction alongside the Waimea River. There are five stages planned with the works spanning 10 years.
Once completed, the site will be connected with the Great Taste Trail and have tracks weaving through the five wetlands. Having tested a blueprint on a much smaller scale at Motueka, we are excited to establish this first stage and help enhance the biodiversity alongside the Waimea River.
Product Review: Electric knapsack
By Rob Fryer
We recently purchased a battery powered knapsack from Stihl. This has turned out to be an absolute gamechanger for us. We tend to utilise it more with specific weed control operations rather than spray releasing plants.
What I like about this machine is the extra range available for spraying large weeds such as gorse and broom. Both the pressure and nozzle are adjustable, allowing for good coverage of a range of weed situations. The battery is a large one and lasts for days at normal use. The whole unit is robust and compatible with the usual rough handling in the back of the Hilux.
I would thoroughly recommend one of these for any landowners / project managers with significant weed issues.
Beautiful Buttresses
By Anna Bradley
A buttress is a type of root that grows out of the base of the trunk of a tree. These thin triangular flanges extend up the trunk and along the roots.
They grow out from all sides of the trunk and serve two main purposes. First, they help keep the tree stable so that it won’t fall over, especially in shallow saturated soils. Secondly, they help the tree gather more nutrients.
Buttress roots vary greatly in size, from barely discernable to many meters of surface. Some of the most iconic trees with huge, gnarled buttresses are fig trees.
Buttress roots can be found on trees that grow in nutrient poor soil or shallow soil. They can often be found on trees in tropical forest or rainforests, especially those that grow in swamps.
In New Zealand, the only tree that forms plank buttresses is the forest giant pukatea (Laurelia novae-zelandiae). It grows to 40 metres in swamp forest. The buttresses help support its tall trunk and heavy crown.
Em beside a pukatea in Delware Bay
Young Enterprise Scheme
By Jan Fryer
As many of you know, Emma got her start with EmGuards through participating in the Young Enterprise Scheme (YES) while she was at school.
It is a fantastic programme for school students, introducing them to the world of business and entrepreneurship.
This year, our young niece in Christchurch, Rhianna Taylor, is participating in the YES programme and has come up with a great concept using her cousin’s EmGuards as part of the project.
Read below an outline of their project and if you are interested in supporting their Leaf a Trace initiative, please get in touch with them at leafatrace@gmail.com
Leaf a Trace
We are a team of young entrepreneurs, from Hillmorton High School, in Christchurch, who are participating in the Young Enterprise Scheme (YES).
We have formed a social enterprise called Leaf a Trace. Our business allows you to make a positive impact on our environment. You can buy a native tree and have it named in honour of you or as a gift. You can either purchase your tree for your own garden or we can plant it locally to help repopulate the plant life after the Port Hills fires. Our product is a bundle, which includes a native tree, an EmGuard to protect your young tree, and a marker so that you can identify and visit your tree as it grows. We have a selection of Native trees to choose from such as: Kowhai; Lemonwood; Lacebark; Ribbonward; Broadleaf and more. As a business, our vision is to regenerate the native bush around Christchurch for future generations to enjoy.
As well as supporting young people and creating a more sustainable future for everyone to enjoy, you can help those who risk their lives for the safety of others. We are going to donate 10% of our revenue to the firefighters for their remarkable response to the 2024 Port Hills fire.
Please contact us if you would like to learn more or follow our social media.
Website: leafatrace.company.site | Email: leafatrace@gmail.com | Instagram: leaf.a.trace | Facebook: leaf.a.trace
EmGuard update:
Emma Fryer
I hope you have all found your raincoats and your wiper blades still work.
This downpour couldn’t have come soon enough! It has been so dry in the Top of the South and by the sound of it, much of the country.
With this rain sweeping the country though, things will hopefully start greening up and bringing us that bit closer to kicking off the planting season.
We have plenty of EmGuards in stock. If you have projects in the pipeline and want quality plant protection, we’d love to hear from you!
September 2023
April 2024
The vineyard is looking fantastic at Redstone Golf course. If you’re in the Nelson region, this lovely course is well worth a visit. Norman and Bo have done a great job with the course despite the floods over the last few years.
Interesting Snippets
What We’ve Been watching:
By Jan Fryer
If you want to see TV at its best, then settle down on these longer autumn evenings to this incredible story. It is the best of British drama, about an unbelieveable true story of injustice done to a large group of subpostmasters in Britain.
Mysterious financial losses, after the installation of a new computer system, lead the post office to sack and prosecute village post masters who have no way to prove their innocence. The issues started in 1999 and the fallout continues today.
It is the incredible story of one man’s dogged determination to prove the innocence of all the subpostmasters affected, and the lengths the Post Office hierarchy went to protect themselves and the post office.
It is the most mind-blowing story I have seen and reviews state that what occurred is one of the worst miscarriages of justice in the recent history of Britain.
It can be found on TVNZ + and there are some interesting interviews also on Radio NZ about it here.
I would well and truly recommend giving yourself time to watch this and read further on the story.
Recipe:
By Evelyn Nashiro
Salsa criolla is a typical Argentinian salsa that is used to accompany meat, particularly steak or sausage/chorizo and make a tasty sandwich.
Ingredients for Salsa Criolla
White onion
Red and/or green capsicum
Tomato
Garlic
Olive oil
Red wine vinegar
Crushed red pepper
Fresh oregano
Salt and pepper to taste
How To Make Salsa Criolla
Cut the vegetables into little pieces and mix them in a bowl. In another bowl, whisk the oil and vinegar together.
Pour the oil and vinegar into the bowl with the vegetables and toss to fully coat everything. Add crushed red pepper, oregano, salt, and pepper to taste to your salsa. Give it a good stir and enjoy! Salsa criolla can be kept in the fridge for up to 48 hours.
Sonila, 2024
CubaDupa
By Alvin Bartley
Over the weekend I was lucky enough to make it back to the annual Wellington Street Festival, CubaDupa.
For those who haven’t been, CubaDupa is New Zealand’s largest outdoor street festival that blurs the lines between attendee and performer with music, dance and street performers constant throughout the weekend amongst a suite of street food vendors and the usual restaurants and bars.
The festival is based around Cuba Street but spreads and sprawls into the surrounding streets. The weekend is free and family friendly.
If you haven’t been, I’d highly recommend making it next year for a guaranteed vibrant weekend in the capital.
Easter Retreat
By Emma Fryer
We had a wonderful family trip to Golden Bay over Easter to celebrate Rob’s 60th birthday. We stayed in the Ao Marama Retreat in Collingwood, and it was just that, a retreat. If you are looking for a weekend escape, we couldn’t recommend it highly enough.
It was a lovely weekend of good food, lots of laughs, fishing and enjoying having three generations together.
We spent an afternoon at Anatoki Salmon where we had a lot of fun and friendly competition, seeing who could catch the biggest fish. We then had them smoked on site and ate them in the cafe. It was such a great activity that appealed to all age groups.
Here is to another good month of saving the planet, building relationships, growing people and doing our bit to make Aotearoa a better place.
If you have any projects in mind and would like to talk further, give us a call or pop in and see us.
We look forward to hearing from you!
