Water Issues and Journals - July 31st

We spent the morning out at Waihora (Lake Ellesmere), New Zealand's fifth largest lake, learning about water issues and the Maori.  Very timely as water rights and the question of "does someone own the water" is very much in the news here right now.  During our morning tea break, we worked on our journals.  Another rainy afternoon was set aside as free time for working on journals. Cheers, Mark

Wineries, Sleeper Cars, and Fancy Feasts- July 23rd

The morning began with a lecture from Colin Meurk, discussing ecosystem restoration theory and principles.  He really put into perspective how much more goes into restoration than just planting a few natives and pulling a few weeds.  One statistic that really stood out was that over 50% of New Zealand’s flora is still exotic.  After the lecture it was off to Waipara Valley where we met with Sue McGaw at a local winery, Pegasus Bay.  Here, she walked us through the native flora walkway that volunteers from Lincoln University in cooperation with the winery planted, in their efforts to bring back native flora and fauna to the wineries in the area as part of the Greening Waipara Project.  

Sue showing us the map she drew to discover where certain
flora and fauna could be found within a 5km and 10km radius.

After meeting with Sue, it was off to the Waipara Sleepers where we would spend the night.  Here, we unloaded all of the luggage and got settled into our sleeper cars and huts.  

One of the sleeper cars, housing four people.

After getting situated in our rooms we took a short trip down the road to local fifth-generation sheep farmer, Daryl Harris.  He is not only a commodity trader in sheep, but he owns a winery as well.  Daryl expressed how there is a need for pesticide use to be reduced in the winery business and thus why he supports the native plantings in the area. We then got to see his sheep herding dog Sis, a Huntaway breed, round up all the sheep in the nearby paddock and bring them right over to where we were standing.  It was definitely a memorable experience having sheep sprinting through the grass straight towards everyone.  

Sis loves her owner Daryl.

Sis herding up all the sheep.

Next stop of the day was to Mountford Estate, another local winery.  Here we took a short, yet very steep, hike up the vineyard hill and got a stunning view looking over the winery and countryside.  

Looking out over the winery and the countryside from the top of the hill.

After safely making our way back down the hill it was time for tea at the Waipara Springs café, where a few of us also did a little wine tasting and gift purchasing as well.  After tea time it was onto the next winery, Torlesse.  This was a shorter visit, looking at their own native plant pathway, with a very unique recycled broken glass pathway.  Finally, it was back to Daryl’s house for a remarkably decadent dinner prepared for us by his wife, Merreé.  Everyone was blown away by the inside décor, their vineyard’s wine, and the exquisite dinner prepared for us.  The dinner included pumpkin soup, roasted lamb, stuffed peppers, and chocolate cake, as well as a plethora of other delicious sides.  We all left the dinner stuffed to the brim and in great spirits.  The rest of the night was spent relaxing in our sleeper cars and huts.  It was a very memorable day and definitely one of the most eventful days yet on the trip.  

-Sarah H. 

Mile 45.66 - July 16th

As of this morning, our group has walked a total of 45.66 miles! A respectable number, by all accounts. We woke up to another clear morning, with some spectacular cloudscapes courtesy of the northwesterly winds blowing in over the Alps.

We then piled into the Gatorwaka and headed to Manaaki Whenua, where we met the illustrious Dean Anderson and Will Allen. Will spent some time talking to us about managing for programme (note the kiwi spelling!) performance by way of logic modeling. We then broke into two groups and made our own logic models for the issue of our choice.

Some of the girls with their lovely logic model.

Next was Dean Anderson, who gave us a thought-provoking look at managing for pest mammals in New Zealand. We spoke about the “troubling paradigm” of having to kill animals for proper conservation in New Zealand.

He also reminded us who the true pests are.

After our lectures and a quick break for lunch, we headed over to the Live in Lincoln and Liffey developments for an overview of kiwi development practices. The Live in Lincoln development is overseen by the Ngai Tahu Development Corporation, New Zealand’s largest, and Maori owned, developers.

Dr. Hostetler pointing out the artificial wetland.

We discussed the ways in which each development considers and carries out their “green” initiatives. Both developments heavily incorporated native New Zealand flora alongside “attractive” exotics in their landscaping; however, the suspicious lack of munching on the native flora in the Liffey development told us that they may not have ecosource their plants. (For the curious, ecosourcing is a practice in which “plant seeds are obtained from the area in which they grow naturally,” thus ensuring that they are perfectly adapted to the area).

It was hot! Here we are at Liffey shading our eyes and shedding layers in the hot New Zealand sun.

Our shadows as we look for non-native trouts in the Liffey stream.

After we finished, we had a short ride back to Lincoln Uni and we discussed our plans for the upcoming three day weekend, which, as of this writing, have yet to be solidified.

Cheers!

~Alex

Green Developments Kiwi Style - July 9th

University students are back in the dorms and campus is a bit busy!? We went over to Landcare Research to learn more about green developments and the importance of design, construction, and post-construction phases. We broke into groups and worked on a hypothetical example on how to design a green development in New Zealand.

Group Discussion - Green Development

After lunch, we ventured in the Gatorwaka up to Pegasus Development to see first hand how planned developments are put together. Pegasus is the largest planned community in the south island and they incorporated some natives, maori art, and conserved greenspace. 

Pegasus Development

Pegasus House For Sale

We went to the back of the development and spent some time on the beach. Beautiful day!
Cheers, Mark

Another JC Penny Pose!

The Wetlands, a Naked Baker, a Flying Fox and a Sunny Sumner - July 6

Kia Ora!

 Our day began as we drove through our fourth overcast and foggy morning towards Travis Wetland Natural Heritage Park, an established and protected natural lowland freshwater ecosystem which serves as an important habitat for a plethora of plant and animals species. There, we were guided through the 2km trail by the wonderfully knowledgeable Dr. Colin Meurk who pointed out a number of unique and beautiful flora and fauna that inhabited the area, as well as took turns preforming transect bird counts along the way. It was amazing to see all the progress that had been made in establishing the wetland ecosystem in a mere 15 years since its establishment.

 After our tour, we headed to a charismatic bakery called the Naked Baker for lunch and afterwards drove into New Brighton, a charming sea-side community, to enjoy the beach and a fun little zip-line, the Flying Fox. For the first time thus far in our trip, the sun emerged through the clouds and made for a beautiful afternoon. 

Once we finished up at New Brighton, we made our way to Sumner Beach where we climbed about the rocks along the shore and took in the stunning coastal views and sunny blue skies.

                At night, we headed down to the Famous Grouse for our first official rugby game – The Crusaders (Christchurch’s home team) vs. The Chiefs ­­– and celebrated as Christchurch won a closely contested game against their rival.   

- Jenna

Weeds, rocks and wet socks - July 5, 2012

Today was a wet day. The entire week has been full of rain, and today was no exception. This is not your typical Florida rain that comes down in sheets and sheets, but a light mist that hangs in the air. We did have a slight rain delay to start off the morning as the peninsula was experiencing some Florida like rain (without the lightening). While waiting for the rain to pass we visited Banks Peninsula Conservation Trust, where we met Brooke Turner, who spoke with us about how Kiwis go about conserving private land. BPCT works with local farmers/landowners to help them set aside what is usually unproductive land. Here they use something called a covenant. Once the landowner decides they want to set aside some of their land a covenant is formed that binds the protected area to the title, so that if the title ever changes hands the protected area still exists. 

Brooke explains Banks Peninsula conservation areas

After her presentation, and a refreshing spot of coffee, we drove off to Birdlings Flat. There we met Dennis and  Annelies who showed us some of the problematic species in the area. We had an invigorating morning collecting weeds in the wet field. Many of us walked away with wet feet and soggy gloves. The problems are not solved, but it feels nice to know we had a hand in bringing native New Zealand back.

Say, "Weeded!"

Banks Peninsula in the mist

After a bagged lunch on a gorgeous rock beach we took a tour down to where the coastline met the hills. Here we climbed on large boulders, found old shark egg sacs, a starfish, and had a grand time doing what we wildlifers and environmental science people do best; explore. It was a small area, no bigger than your average lawn, but we spent hours just walking around, climbing rocks, and taking lots of pictures. As the waves came crashing up against the shore a few of us got wet from the spray; but you didn't hear any complaints from us. While we were out and about we saw a few of the local birds that Dr. Hostetler identified for us. Black-backed Gulls and Pied Shags being the most common. After all this activity, several of us have some sore muscles. The sights we saw and the fun we had more than made up for it though. 

 

On the rocks at Birdlings Flat

As the evening wore down we discovered what a hit our group is with the locals. A fellow Uni student, Brad,  came up to us at dinner telling us he lost some bet and had to clear our plates from the table. With his accent and as fast as he talked we couldn't quite understand. When one of group asked him to repeat himself the entire cafeteria broke out in a fit of laughter. Whether they were laughing at us or at their friend I don't know, but it was all in good fun.  - Justin

Happy 4th of July!

'Ello! The update for today is presented by Rosie.

The day began quite pleasantly, with more fog & mist and the news that there was an earthquake during the night! Through which everyone slept peacefully.

Morning, outside of dorm

Our first morning excursion was to Landcare Research (Manaaki Whenua) to meet Dr. Colin Meurk, who was one of the authors of our course manual. He gave a marvelous presentation about NZ natural history, and shared a plethora of reasons you ought to visit! And reasons for why conservation here is crucial. Did you know that the smallest daisies in the world grow in New Zealand?

500 year old Kahikatea

Dr. Meurk then was our guide through Riccarton Bush, which is, in part, a wildlife reserve protected by a predator proof fence, calling attention to the great extent of the exotic mammal problem here. Inside, however, were the most marvelous native trees. Every tree has a common, scientific, and Maori name, and the Maori name was used most frequently – an indicator of the strong influence of Maori culture here, as well as their connection to the land.
A little meandering around Christchurch in the afternoon allowed everyone some time to shop for postcards, clothing, and food. It was also our first opportunity to see the damage the 2010 earthquake caused...and the new growth! The new shopping area stores were created from shipping containers.

Shipping Container cafe

Jess, Alex, Dr. Hostetler presumably having fun in Christchurch

We ended the day with a trip to the famous Last Grouse pub in Lincoln to unwind. Made conversation with a few Kiwis and had a nice time.

Cheers!

Group Initiatives and Kiwiana - July 3rd

The group collaborated on a number of team-building initiatives (in the drizzle!). They successfully completed Speedball, River of Chocolate, and Traffic Jam (above). The afternoon consisted of group discussions about biodiversity conservation and first introductions to key concepts. Groups were formed, representing Urbanites, Developers, and Farmers.  Below is a poem written by the "Urbanites" to explain the pros and cons of biodiversity from their viewpoint:

The Pros and Cons of Biodiversity as Seen by an Urbanite (a working title):

Relieve our stress

With a fresh breath

Breaking the monotony

With many new sights to see

Aesthetics that please

With plants that appease

Kill the heat!

Urban island we will beat

Not to mention job creation

For more maintenance in this nation

But who’s gonna pay?

Don’t send the fees our way!

And it will limit our growth

Green spaces and hoses we want both

Plus regulations will abound

With building restrictions around

It will consume all of our time

To make diversity so sublime

Lastly with preferences restricted

Many domestics, even cats and dogs, might be evicted.

The evening was spent experiencing a bit of Kiwana. We made Pavlova (pictured above) and watched an episode of Flight of the Conchords (Tough Brets!). Ahh - you did it again Murray! 

Cheers, Mark