Kotare (Kingfisher) & Kārearea (NZ Falcon) Sightings

For those of you who visit the Bullock Creek Wetlands you may have noticed an increase in the birdcall particularly korimako/ bellbird and kōkō / tui as the NZ native birds come to town in the winter. But here are some more special birds to add to the list.

The Kotare was spotted by Bullock Creek wetland neighbour Brian Anderson. Brian was able to capture this beautiful shot in May.

And this morning (June 14), FOBC Trustee, Andy Oxley took a less professional photo of a kārearea perched regally in a tree near the boardwalk entrance on Stone St. “I hear the call of this kārearea every evening as he(?) does a flyover of the wetlands. All the other birds go silent when they sense his presence. I am always amazed at how calm and unfazed they are by humans - I guess the kārearea is pretty comfortable at the top of the NZ bird hierarchy? “

Feel free to send us any bird photos you may have from your Bullock Creek backyard or as you wander through the Wetlands. We’d love to see them.

info@fobc.kiwi

June Planning Meeting with Paul van Klink

The "Post-It" Note Board

Friends of Bullock Creek has completed the change in structure from an Incorporated Society to that of a Charitable Trust. For all the reasons, we highlighted in previous communications, we hope that the new Trust structure will carry us into the future as FOBC continues its restoration work at the Wetlands and our interaction with our Creek neighbours and other groups and authorities working in the Wanaka catchment space.

Your FOBC trustees:

• Charlotte Gardiner - Chair

• Andy Oxley - Secretary

• Roger Gardiner

• Barry Mitchell

• Ben Irving (Past President, FOBC Inc)

The FOBC Trust Deed allows for a maximum of 6 Trustees, each for a 3 year term. To see further details about the FOBC Trustees - take a look at our website.

If you love what we do, but would prefer not to be “on the end of a shovel”, we have many different projects that you can get involved with either as a Trustee or a co-opted Board Member. Don’t hesitate to contact us and have a chat over a cuppa. The trustees meet every 8 weeks but we’re also actively involved in the wetland restoration and other FOBC community projects.

A beautiful sunny afternoon outside the FOBC hut at the old hatchery site. Sadly we forgot to take some photos! A pretty good turnout given the great weather and our AGM competing with the Aspiring Conversations programme.

Attending: Ben Irving, Charlotte, Gardiner, Nancy Latham, Jacquie Staley, Barry Mitchell, David Payton, Andy Oxley, Andrew & Sue Millar, Lyal Cox (QLDC Councillor), Doreen Hale, Eion Rutherford, Raffaela & Paulo Delmonte 

Click on this link to read the minutes from the AGM.

You will have seen recent notices in the local papers (Wanaka Sun & Messenger) advertising our Friends of Bullock Creek Inc. AGM.

We will be holding the meeting as we have done previously in the hayshed at the Fish & Game hatchery site on Saturday 6 April at 4PM. This AGM is likely to the be the last for Friends of Bullock Creek as an incorporated society as we transition from this structure to that of a Charitable Trust.

The meeting will also be an opportunity to acknowledge and thank our retiring committee members - Nancy Latham, Jacquie Staley, Magali Domingo. Please join us for a chat and refreshment following the meeting.

We hope that you can join us. If you have any questions please contact us at info@fobc.kiwi

Another big event for Wanaka. The month of March seems to be crammed full of events every weekend as was recently observed by Marjorie Cook in her Wanaka Sun Editorial . The A&P Show is certainly one of the biggest.

FOBC participated in a very low key way this year as part of “Our Place” - a collective of Wanaka based community environmental organisations.

Our Place has been facilitated by Wai Wanaka with the aim of creating interactive showcases and community events to educate the public about how land, water, flora, fauna, climate and humans are all connected.

The Our Place benefited from significant financial support from the A&P Show (Free site), Rotary, Wanaka Districts and Lions Club, Revology, Rhyme & Reason Brewery, Wanaka Community Workshop.

Looking forward, FOBC will work to be included in other “Our Place” events that are connected with Bullock Creek and Lake Wanaka that will be held in the future.

Last year (June 2023), FOBC participated in a Wai Wanaka workshop with a diverse group of Wanaka environmental community groups and organisations. The aim of the workshop was to establish a range of Biodiversity objectives and provide the basis for an Upper Clutha Biodiversity Strategy. A summary of the UC Biodiversity Strategy has also now been created in a pamphlet format for ease of communication.

With Wai Wanaka taking the lead, this strategy was publicly launched at the WAO Summit Wanaka in Oct 2023 and has since been presented and received support from:-

• QLDC - Climate & Biodiversity team within QLDC including representatives from both Aukaha and Te ao Marama Inc.

• ORC - Councillors and management

Sustainable Funding for Environmental projects

A large driver of this UC Biodiversity Strategy is to ensure sustainable funding for environmental outcomes following the change in national policy. The UC Biodiversity Strategy is based on the concept of a Conservation Alliance:-

Conservation alliance concept – a desire to see an increasingly sustainable level of funding support for conservation and environmental initiatives across the Upper Lakes rohe has led to early-stage discussions between ORC, WAI Wānaka, Southern Lakes Sanctuary and Mana Tāhuna about ways to achieve this. The concept under discussion is the formation of an alliance through which to prioritise work to achieve landscape scale change and to attract significantly increased funding. The Biodiversity Strategy provides a well-aligned, tangible mechanism to help bring this alliance concept to life. The intention would be for the alliance to be inclusive of the many groups that are active across the Upper Lakes. - Ben Youngman, Wai Wanaka, Science & Research Lead

FOBC Comment: At this stage the “bigger picture” about funding for environmental objectives remains unclear. With QLDC repeatedly warning that they have no “spare money” and indications from the National government that funding for environmental initiatives established under the previous government will be wound back, it will be more important than ever for our local environmental groups to present a cohesive and co-ordinated approach when lobbying for funds.

From FOBC’s POV, we will endeavour to keep abreast of developments in this space and continue to advocate for the ongoing protection of Bullock Creek.

Following our successful application to the Otago Catchment Community fund in December last, year, FOBC was busy submitting & finalising funding applications to Central Lakes Trust and Patagonia during January. We were excited to receive notification in February and early March that both these applications had been successful.

We have been so fortunate to receive funding from both these applications. Under the new charitable trust structure FOBC will no longer be requiring subscriptions from members and going forward we will need to rely on funding from supporters through private donations and funding from external organisations.

Funding from these external organisations is used to support the following activities:

• Supervising Community Service Workers in partnership with the Department of Corrections

• Overseeing the restoration plan for Bullock Creek, including clearance, weed & pest management, native planting and maintenance.

• Managing volunteers and visitors to the Wetlands

• Engaging with the local community and providing educational opportunities for local schools and conservation groups.

• Communicating to supporters

• Liaising with other Wanaka environmental group

• Preparing and submitting ongoing funding applications

“But the key to FOBC continuing is the strength of our volunteer commitment. The people who donate their time, money and skills remain the backbone of our charitable organisation.”

— Ben Irving, FOBC President & Trustee

more about patagonia funding

This funding is a new source, not only for FOBC, but other environmental groups in Wanaka, NZ and around the globe. Patagonia as you maybe aware is an internationally recognised brand of clothing started in by Yvon Chouinard in 1973. Patagonia has been restructured in 2022, to be a not for profit organisation using a very different business model. To read more about Patagonia’s unique mission: “the earth is our only shareholder” - go to https://www.patagonia.co.nz/pages/ownership.

Our Bullock Creek Wetlands continue to see a diverse range of visitors who come to enjoy the benefits of the FOBC restoration programme.

In 2023, our unique urban wetland at the headwaters of Bullock Creek was an outdoor classroom for many of Wanaka pre-schools to introduce our youngest community members to nature.

With the Wetlands located right in town and within easy walking distance for many of the local pre-schools, Bullock Creek has proven to be an ideal venue for conducting education programmes like Educate for Nature (Te Kakano), Enviroschools (National Programme), and Wai Wanaka Education programmes.

Clemmie & Anna from Aspiring Beginnings ELC in Wanaka recently had their article about AB’s visits to Bullock Creek published in “The Space” magazine - [A Early Childhood Education publication]. Their article is very well written and worth a read. Their reflections about our Bullock Creek classroom and the interaction of AB tamariki with nature is delightful. Definitely worth a read!

NOTE: This article was first published in The Space Magazine issue 75. Reprinted with permission.

There are so many ways that you can help us look after Bullock Creek and the Wetlands on Stone Street. Helping us keep the Wetlands free of litter and dog droppings is something we can all do any time we visit.

At the end of last year you may have noticed that the QLDC installed a dog waste box and free dog poo bags outside the Stone St entrance. Unfortunately, the wastebox filled very quickly and began to overflow by the end of January. If you see this happening while you stroll by, just snap a photo of the box and go to https://www.qldc.govt.nz/do-it-online/contact-us-fix-it/ on the QLDC website and submit a request for the box to be emptied. Alternatively, just contact Andy 0211075520 or Paul 0210569146 and we’ll get it sorted.

And lastly….if you are walking your dog through the Wetlands, don't forget that they need to be on a leash so you know if they’ve done some business behind a bush! It’s no fun finding doggie “bombs” stuck to your shoes when you’re weeding and planting off the pathways.

Joy Blair (right) and Carla and son Rider Rankin harvesting flax from BC hatchery springs for cultural use

In February, FOBC was approached by a Wanaka weaving group to harvest some Harakeke (Flax). Apparently, we have some excellent specimens growing in the Wetlands. Maori tradition requires that Flax is harvested sustainably to ensure that the resource is not exhausted. Strict protocols are observed:

• Weavers say a karakia (prayer) before cutting the first blade of harakeke

• They always cut on the diagonal, away from the plant’s heart and from top to bottom. This helps rainwater drain away and prevents the heart from being flooded and dying.

• Harvesting is not permitted at night or in rain.

• No food can be taken into the pā harakeke.

• Customarily, pregnant or menstruating women do not harvest or weave, as they are in a tapu (sacred) state.

There is also a whakataukī (māori proverb) says, "Aitia te wahine o te pā harakeke", which means "Marry the woman who is always at the flax bush", for she is an expert flax worker and a diligent person.”

It’s great to see the Wetlands being used by a diverse range of people from the Wanaka community. If anyone is interested in flax weaving they can contact Joy Blair on 027 726 7708 or get in touch with Creative Fibre NZ.