Read our overview of the actions and outputs that have been achieved at Te Hōnonga a Iwi Restoring Rosedale Park across October 2023 and what’s coming up.
- This month we progressed the Landowner Consent application for the two new 2024 regenerative initiatives with Auckland Council and paid for the application process. We have responded to several requests for further information from Council and hope we are notified of an outcome shortly.
- We have been listed as a finalist for the Hockey NZ Community Initiative Award and we have applied for the Harbour Sports Excellence Award again this year based on progress we have made in 2023. We apply for awards for several reasons. The opportunity to connect, learn and partner with other organisations will help us improve. Sharing information about the Te Hōnonga a Iwi model and journey may benefit other restorations in terms of learning from our strengths, weaknesses, successes, and failures. We hope that SMEs will feel that they can undertake decarbonising and climate action in a way that suits their needs and expectations and use our information to not reinvent the wheel should they be interested. We are also committed to supporting developing regional blue green spatial plans and regenerated corridors for wildlife, and the community, to thrive. Being a finalist or winning an award can be a useful motivator for project volunteers as well as offering a point of difference for our people’s CVs. Finally, we hope external validation of our project will attract new SME investors to enable growth at pace and scale across the length of our local waterway.
- North Harbour Hockey has been shortlisted as a finalist for the Excellence in Sustainability Award. Business North Harbour is the biggest business association in NZ, so it is incredible to be shortlisted as a finalist. Te Hōnonga a Iwi is an important part of Harbour Hockey’s Sustainability Roadmap. As such, we have Kaumatua Richard Nahi and soil specialist Matt Cummings joining the CEO and a sustainability committee member of North Harbour at the awards ceremony.
- We have been in contact with NZ Post (new restoration neighbours), and Goodlands, who are building the NZ Post Distribution Centre, regarding joining Te Hōnonga a Iwi.
- We were awarded a $200 voucher from The Warehouse Albany to buy 30 bags of potting mix for UWEN for all our seedling plantings across this year. We are thankful to The Warehouse for its contribution to our all the nurseries, including Te Hōnonga a Iwi in the Upper Harbour.
- Graphic designer Sam Weston has been working hard to create a 3D model of Te Hōnonga a Iwi initiatives and processes to enable stakeholders to use an image to better express the complexities and level of integration of the project A focus group is meeting next week to take a look at Sam’s design and feedback any changes they feel are necessary.
- Akina, funded by Foundation North, have worked with North Harbour Hockey to help them realise their sustainable value across the organisation. This work is important for small businesses to enable us all to showcase our impacts, attract and retain talented staff, future consumer pipelines and tell our sustainability stories better to share knowledge and support transparency in our journeys to decarbonise, increase social equity and biodiversity.
- Te Hōnonga a Iwi has been supporting our umbrella ecological network to develop their strategy. This work has been presented to stakeholders and will be refined for publication. There is immense social and ecological skill and strength in the Upper Harbour Committee. One of the actions UWEN, who is a stakeholder in Te Hōnonga a Iwi, will take in March next year, is trialling mobilising the regio- wide community to unite and work together to undertake a coastal clean-up in the rohe. We are a big part of that initiative. The skills all Te Hõnonga stakeholders will gain from the piece is to practice working at pace and scale together for when we need to do so to address climate related adverse events in the future. Please contact Nicky on hello@restoringrosedalepark.org.nz if you would like to be a part of the coastal clean up event. We need thousands of people to act for a less polluted waterway in our region.
- Matt Cummings from Untangled Landscapes has completed another annual microscopy of our sites across the restoration including measuring soil health in the control and 2023 extension areas. Matt will report his findings. However, while using the microscope at the site, Matt identified there had been improvements in the soil biome in all soil samples. We really thank Matt for his expertise and ongoing commitment to Te Hōnonga a Iwi.
- Youth Leader Ceinwen and her team of helpers have completed the annual plant growth and survival measures across PC 1- 8 5m radius test sites. The raw data is now being analysed by statistician, Sarah Hoessler. We are grateful to Ceinwen, Sarah, Selma and Matt for the ongoing work in this space.
- We have achieved our first of two animal pest management inductions for our new Youth Leaders Elouise, Haemish, and Nate. We also have Madeline and Daniel joining the team for the next session with Les Wootton as he shows the new trappers how to find the traps, trap safely, check the traps, rebait, and record the data on Trap NZ. Les and Stephen have continued to cover for the team until they are up and running for summer onwards. The new UWEN pest manager coordinator Louis is visiting the site and will help Te Hōnonga a Iwi to ensure best practice with our processes, including monitoring and reporting as well as safety. We are so thankful to our youth leaders for their vision and skills they invest in the project. They are the backbone of the project and make an immensely positive impact across all facets of the restoration.
- Anna Harrison, Sustainable Schools advisor, has met with Te Hōnonga a Iwi to talk about how we can improve our services to schools. In addition to highlighting the opportunity to become a member of the New Zealand Association for Environmental Education (NZ AEE), we could help teachers with facilitating school involvement by having health and safety plans ready to share, being portable with our learning opportunities and offer some in-school learning, following up on the potential to connect with two more local schools including kura in Rosedale that we have not yet connected with.
- Following Anna’s advice, Te Hōnonga a Iwi has become a member of NZ AEE to enable us to ensure we are up to date with the NZ curriculum and can strive to offer authentic learning experiences on site or in the classroom for our youth. The opportunity to align learning opportunities with NCEA credits or International Baccalaureate Creativity, activity, service (CAS) experiences is important for schools, and we can improve on our offerings. We will work with the organisation to showcase what we do at Te Hōnonga a Iwi on their website, enabling us to share our model, pilot and learnings with others. Thank you, Anna, for your time, energy and willingness to connect us with our community at the right times and places for them.
- We have met Healthy Water representatives Anna Halliwell and Rita K at the site this month to check in, learn how we can improve and share information.
- We attended the Environmental Defence Society webinar on the draft submission of Hauraki Gulf Fisheries Plan. Developing advocacy skills is an important part of our future work.
- Briar Broad, Whitebait Connection, continues to guide and advise Te Hōnonga a Iwi to ensure we achieve what we set out to achieve, improve local water ways.
- The 2022 and 2023 cover crops are growing well. If you have time, please pop down and talk a walk to see the cover crops do their work to limit pest plant growth. It is interesting to see how many 2022 crop seeds (dormant from last year) have grown.
- Plant Pest Youth Leaders Jerry and Milo continue to undertake their work, as do our water quality and water management leaders. This work requires self-motivation and management, it is often undertaken without anyone knowing. The efforts of our young leaders do not go unnoticed by us all. Thank you.
- Thank you again Sheryl our journalist and Ashley, our Chinese communications guru, for their work across this month. The news stories bring our project to life.
- Finally, our seed whakapapa model is well and truly underway with Olivia harvesting and growing seeds at home, the Kristin Year 2 team transplanting harakeke gifted to us by Nicholas Mayne and caring for those plants weekly at school and an enthusiastic older adult gardening team at Settlers ready to take ownership of the seedlings across the summer months while school in on break. It has been inspirational to observe all members of different generations draw together to create our first plant nursery. Absolutely outstanding work team! Thank you.
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