Autumn newsletter
It has been a busy summer with a regular group meeting weekly to undertake maintenance of current projects. Weekly there has been spraying to keep on top of weeds, pruning to curb excess growth of plants and even hand weeding close to winter 2014 plantings. In the nursery weeding and potting on of cuttings and of root trainers has kept us all busy. As a result some 12,000 plants are growing apace and need to find a home this winter. From a near empty nursery in October the busy summer of potting on has resulted in a really full nursery of mostly natives in PB3’ or 5’s many now a metre high and desperate to be planted into a new home around Cambridge. We have purchased many root trainer lines from three nurseries during the spring and all give us excellent service. After re-potting we are amazed at the rate they grow in our nursery.
Now that we are back into routine after the holiday break we have a core group of some 20-odd volunteers who meet at the nursery each Tuesday for a 3 hour session. It is quite satisfying to see what can be accomplished by this team each week provided that we have good organisation. We continue to attract and welcome new members so spread the word. Throughout the summer much planning has taken place so that we have systems in place for our upcoming winter planting in selected project areas and we are indebted to Waipa District Council Parks and Reserves team for their support and advice.
We are also grateful for the assistance of Correction Department teams who arrive most Mondays and Thursdays and undertake work under our direction. Especial thanks to John Moodie and Eric Todd who share this supervision with me. Weeding, bagging mulch, loading our truck with bags of mulch and spreading it around our plantings have done much this summer to keep our 2014 plantings protected from the summer heat and growing vigorously. We have lots of laughs with these groups and most of the time they work well and assist us in achieving our goals.
And now to our plans for 2015. It looks like being another very big year for us.
LAKE TE KO UTU.
The banks of the southern side of the lake have had all gums removed after they progressively became a danger to public safety. Our Arbor Day 2014 plantings are starting to show growth despite the challenge of keeping them weed free. The task of weeding on such steep banks really is beyond us although we have made an effort but had to appeal to WDC for their assistance. However we are using CD teams to assist us in this area. Their weeding and mulching under our direction continues and is starting to have a positive effect. The replanting process here is going to be a long standing challenge over many years and we will need to use public assistance and make an appeal to service groups, schools etc to assist us. Good things take time but we will provide the organisation and make it happen with your help.
Blackie's Bank below the Guide Hall shows what can be achieved as that is now in its fourth year. We have beavered away there annually and despite the weed regrowth which is regularly sprayed and cleared, the original plantings are starting to make a spectacular show. Jan and Eric Todd have taken over caring for this bank and are doing a grand job so please assist them if asked.
The car park bank has been totally cleared of gums and has been sprayed by WDC. Once the autumn rains arrive this will be our first planting challenge this year. Most of the plants needed for this major replanting are already growing apace in our nursery. CTT will plan and organise the planting of this area and appeal to the public to assist us. From late April on each Tuesday we will plant there as well as use CD teams closely supervised and on Saturday mornings from 9-12 noon organise public planting. It is a huge area and will take many 1000’s of plants so it will take time. We are currently mulching the area to be planted with the help of Correction Department teams and will plant through the deep mulch once it rains. In time this area will look fantastic but it will require many 100’s of hours of work and above all patience and time.
LOLA SILCOCK PARK
On-going maintenance like spraying, weeding and pruning is needed here. As well, there will be winter sessions of infill planting and mulching required but no major work is required here; just fine tuning.
MEADOW WALK
Over the summer much work has been undertaken here and the whole area is looking outstanding and is being increasingly used by the public. We have had many sessions of spraying, weeding and mulching. WDC are going to provide a truckload of crushed rotten rock/metal which we will get our work teams to spread on those areas of the track which are eroding. Roger Dean and Bruce McComb have the Lions orchard/wildflower area looking trim after a few weed eating sessions and the apples are quite tasty. This winter we will be infill planting over the whole area and starting to further develop MW4. The whole project area was inspected in February by Sean Newlands, CEO of the Waikato River Cleanup Trust, as they have been our major funding source. He was most impressed with the work we had done on retiring river bank WDC reserve land from winter dairying and returning it to regenerating forest. It is still a work in progress.
MAPLE ARBORETUM
We have received a Community Board grant of $2000 for this project which will be located on the Brian “Blackie” Reserve. A site inspection with Max Ward, WDC Parks and Reserves chief, resulted in an area being specified and planting spots marked. This has been sprayed by our spray team. Jane Moodie and Jan Todd have spent some time perusing an Appleton Nursery brochure and 43 maples have been identified and ordered for delivery in late June. Further spraying is required and planting will take place in July followed by mulching. In time we hope to have each maple named and further trees added in 2016. It should prove of interest to visitors to Cambridge in the future.
Further plans.
There are many small projects which we will also undertake in 2015.
- Roger Dean is working on a Bluebell Dell among the woodland walk of Ann’s Patch.
- The Te Awa Walkway to St Peters School from the Gaslight Theatre requires further riverbank planting.
- Replanting the Leamington planter boxes with trees is another task looming.
- The rail tunnel at the Leamington Domain is a Lions request where we hope to plant grasses and low natives.
- New planting ideas are regularly debated by our passionate volunteers so watch this space.
- Infill planting on the swale of Alpers Ridge Rd.
- Resthaven scarp planting
If you want to assist CTT in any way please feel free to offer donations, plants, ideas and your labour. All are welcome in our 24th year as we work to make Cambridge the Town of Trees a special place to reside.
Don Willoughby, Chairman.
