Grassy Knees and Licking Trees

This morning began with a relaxing stroll through the Riccarton Farmer's Market. Pies, sweets, breads, and cheese were the main fare along with fresh fruits and veggies. A violinist raising money to record with a band, a high-school trumpet player fundraising a band trip to America, and a man playing the harmonica near the entrance serenaded us as while walked among the tents. 

Maddie and her donut-thing

Maddie and Eliza enjoying the morning

Soon, we were all gathered around this bench watching the ducks swim past with our various purchases. Jámm finally got his baguette, Cole got some good cheese, and I got a beeswax candle. There we were, minding our own business, when suddenly... 

He was not enjoying the market

this guy shows up uninvited. Shaking his tail, bobbing his neck aggressively, and hissing at our baguettes and cheese, we fled the scene just in time for tea. On the way to Darfield Bakery, we had a lively debate about Devin's so-claimed "lack" of a belly button (he has one). At the bakery, we could get a drink AND a snack, a luxury much appreciated since Lincoln's breakfast start-time and our depart-time were relatively close together this morning.

(There were open seats)

After that, we completed our drive to Trevor and Heather Taege's farm. Trevor is one of the first farmers to begin planting natives on his land. The blocks are spread across the farm between sheep and cow paddocks. We walked through them and assisted Trevor with pulling dead natives that didn't survive the season and trimming some of the trees and bushes in the way of the path. In a deal with the local city council, Trevor provided the land needed to plant this native bush and bought even more plants to put in after fencing in the blocks himself and saving some of the money he got for the project.

Broadleaf, Matai, Pokaka, Totora, Black Beech, Coprosma, Kohuhu, Kanuka, Golden Akeake, Fuschia, Kowhai, Whauwhaupaku, Kahikatea and some BIG New Zealand Flax were some of the plants growing here.

A Jámm for size reference

We were also delighted by the presence of Trevor's lovely sheepdog. 

This is Pete

Eliza may be a little less enthused than the others.

"Did this all come from Pete?!"

Maddie and Emily also shared an intimate Hongi before we broke for lunch. 

"I am in your bubble"

After that, Trevor told us more about the animals he keeps on the farm. Currently, there are about 170 sheep and 75 cattle, but with the birth of lambs and the change in seasons, those numbers bump up to 500 and 100, respectively. He also selectively breeds the ewes to give birth at a certain time to ensure that the lambs have enough grass to eat around the farm. Then we got a demonstration of herding by Pete, who is a heading sheepdog.

Pete, being the best boy

They seem a little nervous... 

After that, we went inside to watch Trevor shear a sheep. If you have never seen the process, I have a video of that for you as well! Little did we know that we were spending the day with a champion sheep shearer, his record is 350 sheep in 8 hours!!

Just look at that wall!

After shearing, the wool gets sorted into the good fleece, the belly wool, the head and neck wool, and the miscellaneous bits and pieces. From then on it is shipped off to be processed and sold.

From left to right: belly, bits, and neck

The good fleece

We then toured one last part of the native bush before playing some cricket. 

"Can I ring the bell??"

Little did we know that the Tuatara's crushing defeat against the Hungry Keas was attracting an audience.

The curious cows watch on...

They were obviously Tuatara fans

Our last stop for today was the Lords Bush Scenic Trail, where we licked honeydew from Black Beech trees. A scale insect eats the sap of the black beech but can't process it, so excretes it. This excretion is what bees take to make honey and what we ended up licking. 

All of these pretty little beads are sweet little bug poops

And, to close, a collection of us licking trees:

1 lick

2 licks

3 licks

4,

normal

honey's

such

a

bore!

Thank you Scale Insects of the world!

-paige

I Got 15 Animals (They’re All Named Bob) – Wednesday, July 25

Our day started off with a trip to Pegasus, a green development including native plants and a good use of water drainage. There, we visited Pegasus Beach and were entertained for ten minutes following the lines of a stick pulled by Eliza. Well, some of us were. If that wasn’t exciting enough, the rest of us were exhilarated by yet another group photo!!! (Not pictured)

The eel didn't look this blurry in real life

Our next stop was the Pegasus Bay winery, where we walked a trail that was part of the Greening of Waipara project. The natives there were planted in 2008 and have grown a lot since then. But native plants weren’t the only things we saw; we also were able to coax native eels from the depths of a shallow pond using salami!

Cat!

Cat does not enjoy being held

Sleeper cars

We had lunch at the winery (eels were not on the menu), then continued our way up the road after stopping briefly to unload at the Waipara sleeper cars. We met Daryl, a local farmer who talked to us more about the Greening of Waipara project. This project is meant for education, bringing back native birds, and attracting insects that help control pests.

A talk from Daryl

Bear demonstrates his sheep herding skills

The one and only... Bob (the huge sheep with his tongue out)

After his talk, we drove a little ways up the road and Daryl unleashed his sheep dogs, Sis and Bear, from the trunk of his car. The dogs herded Daryl’s sheep into a smaller paddock, where we enjoyed petting Bob (his daughter’s gigantic pet sheep) and learning about some of the different types of sheep.

The wine tasting group

The card playing group

The grand trophy for the 2018 lip sync contest

After that we went to another winery, Waipara Hills, to taste and learn about wine making. There, I made the grand prize for the lip sync; a microphone-ish thing made from only the finest ingredients (cardboard, chocolate wrappers, and lots of sparkly duct tape).

Coco thinks it's been a long day

Then it was off to Daryl’s house for dinner and the long-awaited (and dreaded) lip sync contest! But first, there was plenty of time to cuddle with his adorable pets, play cards, and eat a delicious dinner and Pavlova (courtesy of Daryl and Allison). And play a game of mafia.

But finally, it was time for the lip sync contest. According to the judges, the bar was raised with everyone’s performance. Even Jámm improved from his previous wordless lip syncs and one-word songs by actually lip-syncing nine words (and in his encore performance, more than five verses!). It was a close decision from the judges, but first place for bragging rights and the microphone went to Devin. Corinne was a very close second, and I got third place.

After all of the excitement and dancing, we crashed at the Waipara Sleeper Cars. Despite the lack of heat amongst other things, it was very cool to sleep in old train cars and cabins. Most of us slept pretty well, but some unnamed people snoring (*cough cough*) kept some of us up.

Cheers,

Tupelo

Why did the Pukeko cross the road?

This day of restoration began with a talk from Antony Shadbolt, a Landscape Architect and Ecologist for the Christchurch City Council. He first spoke to us about the Styx River Reserve #2, soon to be the Dense Kahakatea Forest Reserve. This reserve is part of the city’s plan to create patches of natural land that connect larger natural areas like Travis Wetland and Riccarton Bush. This area was once a wetland that was drained by Europeans colonizers for agricultural purposes, which ultimately led to highly polluted waters. This situation can be compared to the drainage of the Florida Everglades. Drainage of these wetlands has had a large, negative impact on wildlife biodiversity.

Antony gave us a tour of the reserve and explained the plans for this land. The non-native trees on the reserve were drilled with poison to create a soft and tall structure for birds and other cavity nesting creatures. These trees were banded with sheet metal to prevent disturbances from possums.

Metal bands around trees to prevent possums from climbing.

We then came to the Ka Putahi Creek, one of the most polluted waterways in Christchurch. Along the creek, sedimentation ponds are being constructed to slow down water flow and allow and solid pollutants to settle. The creek was also serpentine to allow for more diversity along the bank.

The Ka Puhati creek is one of the most polluted in Christchurch.

Today we helped restore natural areas around this creek. The first site we visited butted up against the river. The plants must have been left out overnight because they were all frozen solid and nearly impossible to remove from their pots. So, we moved on to the next site…

This site was at a portion of the creek that was sandwiched between a motorway under construction and farmland. This farmland is eventually to be developed for homes, allowing for the residents to have nature right outside their doors. As we drove down to the river, the local cows thought we were there to feed them and raced us to the end of their pasture. This was a pleasant distraction until their farmer actually came to feed them and they ran away.

The nice cows that chased us.

We continued, and Antony explained more about the ecology of the river and how this was the biggest waterway realignment undertaken in Christchurch before we moved on to our third site of the day.

At our third site, we met Haymish who was with Conservation Volunteers New Zealand. He is married to Sophie who we have worked with with the Banks Peninsula Trust. We planted roughly 260 plants to contribute to the Kahakatea forest being planted there. We spent hours digging holes and listening to music. It was at this site that we encountered the Pukekos… Their melodic screaming was music to our bleeding ears.

Kahakatea forest planting.

When we finished at the third site, the sun was going down, but we weren’t quite finished. We returned to the first site to check on our defrosted plants and finished our jobs there.

We ended our day with a stop at Coffee Culture for our late afternoon tea. On the way there we encountered a Pukeko crossing the road, and thus my favorite joke was born:

Kat: Why did the Pukeko cross the road?

Eliza: To scream at its’ friends.

Now, we are all preparing to head out for our free weekend!

-Bailey

Sea to the Left, Pasture to the Right, Sky Above, Worms Below

For today's expedition, the class ventured out to the Tavora Reserve. This is the northernmost reserve owned by the Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust, who had a member come out to help us with the restoration efforts. Dave Mcfarlane from the Trust and Regan Courtney from Mosquito Consulting Services talked to us about yellow-eyed penguin numbers and how avian malaria can be transmitted through mosquitoes. Luckily, New Zealand has no mosquitoes currently carrying human diseases, but they are still a pest when it comes to fragile populations like that of the penguin. 

Following the lecture, we got to work planting flax in the area. Teaming up in pairs we navigated the hillside, cleared patches of tall grass and in the end planted about 400 plants! I particularly liked using the "spaghetti" technique when removing the grass, where you spin the spade around it like a fork and pull. The flax plant is actually capable of out-competing exotic grasses, but it was nice to clear the area a bit before planting. Throughout it all we also found hundreds of worms and grubs, and attempted to place them back in the soil after digging them up.  

At lunch we opened up a bag of gummy snakes and they were unusually multicolored. Much tastier than any worms would have been while planting too. We also finished the bag in under an hour. Not trying to get sponsored here, but just saying that the class has gone through over a dozen of these by now with more to come. 

After our lunch, we took a hike down to the beach. On the way, Dr. Colin Meurk showed us how to plant a salt marsh ribbonwood. We also learned that a lot of areas where restoration is being undertaken experience difficulty in getting their plants to maturity. Whether it be rabbits tearing out flax or unexpected flooding killing seedlings, the effort is invaluable but sometimes it is not enough to work against nature. 

The beach was absolutely stunning and the sand looked like brown sugar!

The day was rewarding, but the drive back was definitely tedious. Props to Dr. Hostetler for driving 10 sleeping people back for what took 5 hours (with stops). We got back just after dinner would be served at the University, so decided to indulge in our first New Zealand take-out experience from Lincoln Fish Supply. The ketchup here is amazing by the way. 

-Emily

Haere Mai! Welcome to Quail Island!

Our very first day here in New Zealand we hiked up to the top of a hill just outside of the city of Christchurch and looked out upon Quail Island. We were told that towards the middle of the course we'd be going there, and oh how time flies! Today we finally got to visit the island for a restoration project with The Quail Island Conservation Trust, under the guidance of Ian McLennan.

Our ferry from Lyttelton to Quail Island

Some quick facts about Quail Island:
1. Quail Island is uninhabited. In 1875, it was used as a leper camp/hospital and then after that, as a base for Antarctic exploration.
2. The island was declared a recreation reserve in 1975.
3. The Quail Island Conservation Trust is a charitable trust, so they receive no government funding and everything is planted by volunteers.
4. They've been planting trees for 20 years!

Our role today was to help Ian and some frequent volunteers plant native silver tussocks into pots where they would grow and then in about a years time, be planted in the ground on the island (probably by families on a "Family Planting Day")!

Getting a planting lesson

We received a general introduction/health and safety talk from Ian when we first arrived. He told us about the trappings they do on the island to remove the non-native mammal predators and excitedly told us about the three bird species they have nesting on the island: bellbirds, shining cuckoo and the wood pigeon. We learned that just to be extra safe, we would be wearing masks due to the very slim possibility of contracting legionnaires from potting soil (as you can see in the picture). We set up an assembly line of filling up pots, planting tussocks, trimming and placing together in the sun and in no time we had planted 311 tussocks!

Our group

Once finished with our lunch, we set out with Colin (our now friend from the Landcare Research) to walk the 4.5k loop of the island. We reviewed some of our native flora knowledge, finding flax, manuka and kanuka, lemon wood, daisies etc. We saw the first patch the Trust ever planted, which was right down the hill from a patch that was being prepped for a planting in the spring! We also got to use Colin's hand lens (a small magnifying glass) to look at different colored lichens.

Corinne using the hand lens to look at an orange colored lichen (that to me looked like a venus fly trap)

We also searched for geckos and skinks under rocks, where Cole and Corinne were successful at finding one of each!

After a trip to the wind-protected beach and the ferry ride back, we ended the day with one of Dr. Hostetler's favorites -- Coffee Culture.

-Caroline