Autumn News - April 2022 - Te Mata Park Trust

Autumn is well and truly underway, and it is wonderful to see so many people enjoying this beautiful time of year in the Park.

If you’re in the Park over autumn you might notice the elegant white flowers and long leaves of the koromiko, or admire our growing native rakau planted last winter.

The plants are thriving after the recent wet weather, and we are looking ahead to an ambitious winter planting season. We will be planting 12,500 natives this year and will be enlisting the help of our community to achieve this, so look out for our volunteer days coming up over winter.

Wishing you a wonderful autumn season,

The Te Mata Park Trust Board

New Educational Resources

We are very proud to have launched new online resources to help Park visitors learn more about our beautiful maunga and how to protect it.

Explore the Natural Environment Catalogue to find out more about the plants and creatures that call Te Mata Park home. Learn how to differentiate between the native ferns, what brave creature feeds on the ongaonga, or where to spot the Te Mata beetle.

For parents and teachers, the new educational Learning Guides are a fantastic resource. The three guides are packed with information, activities, and discovery questions to help tamariki learn about the natural world.

These online resources were created by Sara Shaw for the Park and Sonya Sedgwick from Enviroschools Hawke’s Bay, in collaboration with local experts Mike Lusk, Tyne-Marie Nelson, and Dr Adam Forbes. Thank you to all involved.

Wetlands Restoration

The restoration of the large wetlands area in Te Hau Valley (adjacent to the yellow track and above the Giant Redwoods) is underway. Thanks to the support of Nathan Burkepile (NZ Landcare Trust) and the work of the Park’s caretakers, this important ecological area is being enhanced to provide a beautiful habitat for native flora and fauna. The peat wetland is the largest in the Park – it is spring fed and the headwaters to Te Kahika Stream that flows through Havelock North. We hope this project will bring about some wonderful changes in the coming years, with enhanced biodiversity and water quality.

Native Bush Destruction

The Trust has been made aware of the recent creation of some unsanctioned tracks resulting in extensive damage to many species of native flora and fauna. We are working with the individuals involved.

Whilst the majority of Park users stay on the provided tracks, we would like to remind all Park users to please respect the rules. If you witness any vandalism, unsanctioned track building, or destruction of native bush, please report this to Park Manager Emma Buttle on info@tematapark.co.nz.

Words From Mike Lusk

Our resident plant expert and volunteer for over 20 years

As we progress through autumn, we see Te Mata Park in an extreme state. Not a good state or a bad one, but an uncommonly green one. The Park grassland has not been eaten down by sheep this year making concern about fire greater than usual and if there were any mushrooms, I didn’t find them.

Now of course, growth is rampant which is good for the plantings and (in human terms) a problem as far as weeds are concerned. The system of planting used in the last two years has shown itself to be a good one, with the mats and surrounds giving the natives a considerable advantage, but the growth of tall grasses and other weeds has overtopped some. The method of dealing with this has been to tread down the grass to release the natives and once the grass settles into a winter recess the trees will appear larger without any effort on their part. By and large the best way of controlling nearly all weeds is to get a canopy over them and this is already starting to work in the case of the fast-growing poroporo which has arrived thanks to the birds that eat the yellow fruits and distribute the seeds. Considering that the overall cost for each tree planted and protected is $10, we should be grateful for the poroporo which is free, useful, and attractive.

Keep an eye out for fungi on your travels and look out for messages about the glamour job of planting.

Make a Note:

SHEEP: the sheep have returned to the Park for grazing. A reminder to please keep dogs under control and in sight, and for mountain bikers to ride with care
VOLUNTEER: our winter planting season is around the corner and we are looking for volunteers to join our planting days. Please email eleanor@tematapark.co.nz if you would like to join our volunteer team.

Haere mai | Welcome to Te Mata Park and its famous peak, one of the most loved and visited places in Hawke’s Bay.

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