May 2004

Here we are into May and moisture levels have increased so its time to start planting.

We have been caught on the hop a bit with the Cambridge High School as we had hoped that the Oak Arboretum would be ready for them this year to plant, but we have grave reservations that there is going to be some major hold up with the plans for this Park. They are not of our making but the higher authority, Landscape Committee.

It was a change of plans that we set to with the idea of maintaining the health of our trees planted last year in Dominion Road.

The Council contractors had put many heaps of leaf mulch on the grass verge in Dominion Road for us to use. The first class of students came on Friday 7th May in mufti gear and with some instructions they went to work and made sure that all the trees had a generous amount scattered around them. This will also keep the weeds at bay as well as help keep the moisture in next summer.

The trees have grown very well with the leaf mulch they had last year and it kept the weeds to a very manageable level.

The upgrade of the river walkways is proceeding with the help of the corrections department. The February floods covered the walkway with a metre and a half of water and there was no damage. The walkway is worth a look as it is fairly flat. The walk starts from the end of the road by the boat ramp.

Other news of the walkways is that the council has contractors working on the stairway below the High Level Bridge on the Leamington side. This was in a very dangerous state for many years, and was getting worse.

The pine trees between the High Level Bridge and Lumb Park are to be removed soon as they are a hazard due to their age. This will mean that both sides of the river will need to be replanted to prevent erosion. Our resources will stretch to fit this in.

We have been employing a person to work in our planted areas, in an attempt to clear the climbing weeds that tend to smoother young trees.

We will try to extend this programme further as finance allows.

Lake Te Ko Utu.  A second spraying along the town side bank has made a difference to the weeds.  We do have trees and shrubs that we have been growing on for the park but we await a plan.  Over the last year many trees have fallen down in the park.  Each one that has come down has brought with it a lot of soil which is very sandy, without much top soil.

To prevent erosion there will need to be a concentrated effort to build up the soil level and plant very hardy types of shrubs and trees that will hold the bank together.

A major news item. We have launched a website with the help of Greg Liddy, details as follows; www.cambridge.net.nz/treetrust

If you are into the computer age there should be lots of information going to update regularly. Extra ideas are welcome.

We sent out reminder notices about unpaid subs recently and had a great response. Anyone else who has not paid we look forward to hearing from you. Most of those were on the list that paid towards the end of the last financial year. No offence but there has to be a start point for the New Year and that is the first of September.

Lola and Jack Silcock were presented with a community award recently and they well deserve it.They are a very deserving couple for the service the have done for the community and to the Tree Trust.

We feel some disappointment at what has happened at St Peters School. The Tree Trust had helped the students with many plantings in and around the Kahikatea block and in the name of progress the lot have been ripped out. There is to be a pool of some sort installed on one side but at the moment the project is stalled by resource approvals needed. It was not a good example to set for the young people.

We have seven submissions in to council for the Draft Ten Year Plan. We are looking forward to a better reaction to them than we had last year to the Annual Plan. We hope to have the results on the website in time.

We have upgraded our filing system so you may get a phone call inviting you to a function. Most of you are only names and we would like to see your faces so if you get a call, do come along we would like to see you.

You may remember the saga of the stolen spade. Well I have great pleasure in giving our hard working member a new one. Sorry it took so long but the right spade was hard to find. To the person who stole the other one I hope they chop their toes off or strain their back.

Didn't the town look great for a few days before the wind and rain knocked off the leaves? I know people curse them but don't deciduous trees show you the changing seasons in a delightful way? All those beautiful colours and there is nothing so invigorating as watching a group of children playing running and diving into a heap of crispy leaves, laughing and enjoying nature out in the fresh air.

Saga of the fence posts.

We needed filling for a low part of the Riverbank Walkway

In the chairman's effort to do as much as possible without cost, the Rugby Club was removing a fence with tall steel posts that would be ideal for a retaining wall that will be needed in the next section of the Walkway.  He asked to be notified when it was to happen.  So he goes away to the South Island for two weeks holiday.  In due course the phone rings; please can I have two men and two trailers at the Rugby Club on Saturday to collect these posts. After many phone calls it is arranged.

Nobody told us that you needed a machine to lift these posts onto the trailers. There was an enormous lump of concrete on the bottom of each pole and if we put them on the trailers we would only get about 4 or 6 on. It was a no go idea as there were over 120 posts.

The posts are now stored offsite until a means of dismantling them is found.

Every tomorrow has two handles.

You can take hold of the handle of anxiety or the handle of enthusiasm.

Upon your choice so will be your day. ***

Looking back in reflection at some of the things we have done: Have you visited the Gaslight Theatre Park lately and seen what it looks like. No one would have believed when we first started what an asset it has turned out to be.

We can compare the Gaslight Park that has been established for a number of years longer than the Karapiro Stream Park. This Park has been planted with English tress on the flat land at the bottom of the gully and native the bank that need clearing and planting. This area is a total surprise to visitors.

In Bath Street there is an area that lends itself to the same sort of development as the Gaslight Theatre Park.

A part is flat and it could be mown as a Park with a thick Native edge all the way along the riverbank. This is only a recommendation.

It has been very good to have some younger fresh ideas, help and enthusiasm in the shape of Greg Liddy.

If there is anyone out there willing to come forward and lend us a hand in some way, please, we would love to hear from you.

We could do with some feed back from our members as to what more we could be doing and any comments on the Lake.

Stop Press

It has just come to our attention that the Oak Arboretum is on hold until August. We have been asked to organize getting the trees out of the ground and bagged into the largest bag with 2 handles that can be carried.

***

The technical problems faced by the contractor building the stairway under the High Level Bridge are worse than a big job he has at Huntly Power Station.