twinkles Posted May 3, 2012 Report Share Posted May 3, 2012 Thought I'd start a new thread if that's ok, rather than tagging onto the one about our swamp. We're going to the council meeting tonight to present our plan, riparian planting of the streams, stormwater ditches and river edge through our town. So wish me luck I toned the plan down alot, to make it easier to get accepted, so now it covers the council owned small waterways, and the main stretches of river. Taking a few interested locals and someone who owns a big stretch of land bordering the council's and the main stream, to voice their support for the idea. Fully expecting the council to say no, go away, but that's cool, we'll keep at them until they agree. I've been around photographing all the waterways we're including, and went down to the biggest stream last night to see what I could spot in the dark. So here's a few fishy pics.. This is where I was.. And this is what I saw in a 20metre stretch.. Big koura, as long as my foot if you include his claws, so I wasn't keen to get any closer for a better pic in case he pinched me sorry Bullies by the million.. And eels, 9 all up.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueether Posted May 3, 2012 Report Share Posted May 3, 2012 Good on you and good luck Councils can get behind these sorts of ideas, ours supports Maungatautari, and they have released kokopu in some of the streams around the mountain Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted May 3, 2012 Report Share Posted May 3, 2012 I think that eel in pic 10 has been drinking doesn't it know not to drink and slime? good luck i hope it goes well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted May 3, 2012 Report Share Posted May 3, 2012 The water must be pretty healthy to support that sort of life. Point out to the council that it would be way cheaper to maintain that quality than to try and fix it once the water is nackered. They always love to point out to the ratepayers how they are saving money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twinkles Posted May 4, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 4, 2012 They're heavy drinkers them eels, must have learnt from the local people :oops: Last night went really well Regional council flood/water team have pretty much given the go ahead to plant whatever wherever. Turns out that some of the land we thought they owned, is actually untitled land managed by the local council (i.e, where the cows are) so we need to work with them more. Made contact with some local council people who were at the meeting, and sounds like some of them would lend their support. Some of the areas we want to do are included in the 10-year district council plan as needing work done in the next 3 years, planting and other stuff, so we'll be putting in a submission next week for what we want planted and where, hopefully they'll agree and send some of the allocated funding into it. Submissions on the 10year plan close on the 17th. Also got permission from the horizons flood people to plant out behind our place better, between us and the wetland, and they're going to try and supply some plants for us which is great. Now trying to work out how to form a trust, so we can bring people together better and apply for grants from doc and lotteries etc to buy plants. Worked out we need around 6,500 plants just to do the stream in the park Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted May 4, 2012 Report Share Posted May 4, 2012 http://www.societies.govt.nz/cms/charitable-trusts process is fairly easy 4 - 5 people, maybe one from the council included once set up you can apply for funding etc look for other trusts doing same work and enquire with them, most will be only too happy to provide info Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikey Posted May 4, 2012 Report Share Posted May 4, 2012 Awesome work... I'm impressed. Also love the fact you have lotsa bullies chilling out in that stream. Keep up the great work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
purplecatfish Posted May 4, 2012 Report Share Posted May 4, 2012 Well done. Nice to see people making a positive change in their community. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supasi Posted May 5, 2012 Report Share Posted May 5, 2012 That is awesome news Twinkles. I look forward to reading your updates as you go along. Shame you were not closer as I would definitely be keen to get involved and lend a hand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella Posted May 12, 2012 Report Share Posted May 12, 2012 Have a chat to someone at your local DOC office and see if you can get hold of their 'Seeds for Success' manual for starting community groups. I haven't read over it but it looks like a fantastic resource and apparently every DOC office should have a copy. Great work, good on you!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twinkles Posted May 12, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 12, 2012 The best information for planning planting that i've found is the landcare research site, lots of good studies on there, and a guide to riparian planting prepared by niwa for doc which is getting old now but really in depth and usefull. The doc one wasn't working online properly anymore but when I rang them they dug up a scanned copy and posted it to me on disk the same day, brilliant of them I'm preparing a submission for local council on the long term plan, submissions close friday so working hard on that at the mo. Good support from some people on council so will be interesting to see how the rest take it. Also finalising people for the board so we can register as a charity, loads of different avenues to explore for funding once that's done. So things are happening and we will get there :bounce: Went to grab some pics of the last stormwater ditch the other day, and snapped one of the edge of the whanganui there too, rainbowy... :tears: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twinkles Posted May 15, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 15, 2012 Ok, please read through this anyone and pm me changes or mistakes etc. Or rewrite the whole thing for me! I'm sure it sounds awful but have to get something in as a submission on the council's long term plan tomorrow, and then follow up in person at the next council meeting. It's hard to figure out how to say 'quit poisoning our water and let us plant trees' without sounding like some crazed hippy they can ignore And I can talk to people in person and explain it all find it tough to get a complaint down on paper or know what word to use to suggest things. Need to add some more at the end too Ruapehu District Council is falling well short of local and national expectations for waterway care and protection. While other district and regional councils have established policies, bylaws and projects to restore and protect aquatic habitats, we lag behind with no consideration given to water quality or habitat protection in long term planning documents or daily council activities. In urban Taumarunui we have unfiltered stormwater systems running straight into our awa, degraded streams with little or no indigenous flora and fauna surviving in them, and cattle given free access to waterways and the awa itself on council managed land. Many native species are absent from areas they once thrived in, and summer algal blooms render the water unsuitable for swimming and recreation. We request that RDC considers the protection, restoration and promotion of aquatic habitats as a major objective for any works in or adjoining waterways in the urban catchment. We also request the help and support of RDC for a community led restoration project on council and private lands adjoining the awa and waterways. Particular areas of concern highlighted in the LTP and Asset Management Plans include the development of Taumarunui Domain and Cherry Grove. Both of these areas are in desperate need of restoration planting and improvements, and we would like council to ensure that any development work done in these areas is focused on improving water quality and aquatic habitats. Appropriate native re-vegetation of stream banks, wetland areas and river margins should be included in any improvement works. Not specified in the LTP or AMP's but currently managed by RDC is the large area of land bordering the right bank of the Whanganui Awa between Cherry Grove and Matapuna Bridge. This land is currently leased as grazing, allowing livestock to trample waterway edges and wetlands, defecate directly into the water flow, and preventing the establishment of native riparian species. We request that a plan be developed to end riverside grazing as leases expire, and return the land to a usable community recreation area, managed by community groups and iwi. This would allow the community to riparian plant the urban catchment river edge and stormwater gullies, greatly reducing the effect our urban area has on water quality and habitats in the Whanganui. Whakaora Awa has been investigating possible funding avenues to supply plants and provide ongoing maintenance for this area, and now seeks discussion with RDC to evaluate when grazing leases expire and coordinate to find the best workable plan for planting the area over several years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spoon Posted May 16, 2012 Report Share Posted May 16, 2012 good work so far :thup: i used be a gardener and the company i worked for was sub contracted to plant flax in gullys in the port hills in chch. horrible job on steep gullys in winter by the way. the land in the port hills had been cleared for grazing decades ago and this has had a bad effect on the sediment in the rivers and consequent build up of sediment in the estuary the flax with its dense fibrous roots traps a lot of this it also grows well in a bog setting. we also planted 3000 odd plants mainly flax, carex and toitoi in an area in halswell quarry park. this was to catch sediment in a bog area before it got too far downstream . the sediment was mainly coming from the sub division behind the park as well as grazing areas. perhaps sediment catchment plantings could be beneficial in your area Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twinkles Posted May 16, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 16, 2012 Sediment catching vegetation would do wonders here. There's one little stream which runs through paddocks, under the highway, through another paddock, then between two houses and into the river. With the rain yesterday it was clay brown all through the paddocks, then where it travels between the houses it's almost completely smothered by weed growth and is filtered to come out clean and transparent into the river. We're looking at mostly carex, toitoi, ribbonwood and cabbage trees Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twinkles Posted May 16, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 16, 2012 the other week i thought this was pretty bad, paddock with a gully draining straight into the river.. but this today, after rain and several hundred cows... While I was taking pics they were hosing out the cattle trucks and loading area, into the same gully. Stinks to high heaven. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazy4crays Posted May 26, 2012 Report Share Posted May 26, 2012 that looks pretty sick/embarasing dude regardless of our countries dependance on the dairy industry :tears: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twinkles Posted May 26, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 26, 2012 Most of the pollution from cattle here is beef cattle, very little dairying. So the fontera work to clean up their act needs to be matched by a similar initiative for drystock farmers. We had a great result at the council meeting on friday One member of council sounded doubtful about what i'd said in my submission about the river being in bad condition, so i answered her questions with the niwa monitoring results and how we rank really badly nationally, even though we're way upstream in a river coming out of pristine national park. She didn't know what periphyton or mci or anything meant so she was quiet after that. The rest of the council thought it was great, they know they'll have to do something eventually to keep to the resource management act and other regulations coming out, so they're very pleased that someone wants to take over and do it for them without them having to pay and organise stuff. So we've got the unofficial go ahead to start applying to grants and planning properly. It's all been heaps easier than I expected so far :bounce: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella Posted May 26, 2012 Report Share Posted May 26, 2012 excellent result!!!! well done Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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