Untamed Blackberry bush takes over fence.

As the FOBC hard working band of volunteers continue the restoration of the Wetlands at Bullock Creek there is one very nasty exotic weed that tries very hard to halt our progress - the Blackberry!

One issue is Blackberry bushes are so difficult to eradicate! The pesky plant has a never-ending root system that is very labor intensive to entirely dig out. Not to mention, blackberry roots are able to re-sprout themselves after being broken & can start a new plant!

Apart from being tough to control, Blackberries outcompete the native species. The bush is filled with thickets and are beastly burdens to other plants & animals (including us humans)! They also restrict waterways, like Bullock Creek.

Attempts to effectively mitigate the impacts of blackberries are tricky - but there are a few solutions! Manual removal can be effective when digging or tilling is completed correctly and consistently! It has also been suggested that allowing livestock to graze infested areas might help improve the area too. Planting grasses/other hearty plant species over affected areas can offer some rebuttal against the baneful blackberry bush! Any suggestions to help our chances against this fiesty berry?

Artwork and Map of Bullock Creek created by Wanaka Primary School Kids.

If you are curious about more Bullock Creek History, this artwork from about 30 years ago might intrigue you! Jenny Moss, schoolteacher, led her students through the length of Bullock Creek. The students recorded findings from their walk, and voila - a robust map of Bullock Creek was created! Today, while working to restore Bullock Creek, FOBC also is hoping to restore the artwork and find a permanent home for it! What a wonderful piece of Wanaka History!

Many thanks to Sam Cathie of Sampford-Cathie

Volunteers doing an awesome job at laying down the cardboard barrier & layering with a mulch cover!

Have you ever wondered why there is cardboard everywhere?? Well, here are some answers…

For one, cardboard serves as a wonderfully effective weed supressant. This allows new plants to grow & thrive without having to deal with as much competition from pesky weeds. Not only does it provide a protective barrier, it also decomposes down as a baselayer for new plant growth. The combination of cardboard and a mulch covering works amazingly!

Another plus of using cardboard - it minimizes the waste stream! We reuse the cardboard that local companies generously donate, keeping waste out of landfills & plants happy!

WHAT A MILESTONE! 

10,143 plants planted since October 2016 and 7335 volunteer hours logged!

Friends of Bullock Creek thanks our dedicated group of volunteers and also our donors and funders who continue to help us transform an abandoned weed infested site into a unique urban wetland available for all the Wanaka community and visitors to enjoy. 

A great team of staunch volunteers

It’s not everyone’s cup of tea! Turning up on a day that’s 2C under an inversion or braving winter rain and wind to do the maintenance that’s essential to the ongoing success of the Bullock Creek wetland restoration is pretty STAUNCH!

This winter has been especially encouraging with a steady group of volunteers working away with Paul and Ed. The key tasks during the winter months are of course putting new natives in the ground, but even more importantly putting in the work to lay down cardboard and cover with mulch to prevent the onslaught of weeds as soon as Spring arrives.

Special mention to star volunteers: Rowena & Graeme Cannings, Andrew & Sue Millar, Gavin Craig, Mary Gardiner, Dave McVinnie, John Bretherton, Julie Cadzow and to new faces Gary Pasco & Ritchie Laming this winter.

Friends of Bullock Creek are fortunate recipients of other donations from a range of Wanaka retailers who provide us with their cardboard packaging and great piles of woodchip mulch from Trees Company a local arborists.

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.