Red Crowned Kakariki 35 were released in 2008. They appear to be doing well and are regularly seen. 

Another month with no planting trips however, there were 6 trips to the island involving 25 volunteers.

Upcoming volunteer trips
Contact Fiona on info@motuihe.org.nz
Sunday September 15
Sunday October 20
Sunday November 17
Sunday December 8
Mid week trips contact Simon on volunteermotuihe@gmail.com
24 September
15 October
29 November
4 December
6 December
12 December

Peter Hawkins – Long standing supporter of Motuihe Trust & OBC Past Commodore/Life Member
 
To Lynley, Scott, Rachel and family members, Motuihe Trust extends its deepest sympathy on Peter’s recent passing.
Always one for working behind the scenes and never wanting to be in spotlight, Peter was extremely loyal and supportive of Motuihe Trust when OBC started its involvement with the restoration of Motuihe Island.
Going back to 2003 when Peter was Commodore of OBC, he encouraged the Executive Committee at the time to supporting Motuihe Trust via a Memorandum of Understanding.  This MOU still stands today and allows Motuihe Trust to hold monthly meetings and AGMs at OBC, storing ice creams in a Trust owned freezer amongst other things.  Peter also assisted in the building of the island nursery and has continued making generous annual donations since that time.  These donations have assisted the Trust in a variety of areas.
Peter – you will be sadly missed by those of us who knew you and of your involvement with Motuihe.  The Trust is very grateful for your loyalty and support.

Kakabeak growing well out in the field
The weeding group came across this thriving Kakabeak plant near Calypso Bay. (photos John Laurence)




Improvements at the Woolshed
Chris Cotter and Stuart Macintosh worked over several days to install an emergency exit at the roller door in the woolshed using the deck that was at the back of the volunteer house. 


This might not seem very exciting but it is for those who sleep over in the woolshed. Power with a double wall socket has been installed in the four cubicles. This means a light can be plugged in and phones can be charged. The electrician who did the work is Dan Lineen from DRL. Those of you who are home owners know how difficult it is to get a tradesman to come so you will appreciate the difficulty of getting an electrician to an island. Fortunately Dan has his own boat. 

Japanese Honeysuckle

Asking Motuihe island  volunteers, weeders and visitors to be on the lookout for Japanese Honeysuckle.
A fast growing, scrambling, perennial vine.  Fragrant yellow/white flowers on display in spring through autumn.  The dark green leaves grow in pairs, opposite each other.   This invasive plant is classified as a national pest.
If sighted on Motuihe, please email info@motuihe.org.nz with GPS coordinates or advise a Motuihe Trust weed leader.
Lois Badham

Kukuwai Project's first report
Kukuwai (wetland or swampland) is one of a number of projects that have been set up recently to monitor what is happening on Motuihe. A small group of volunteers (we are hoping that others will join us), Fiona Alexander, Margaret Freeman and Emma Salmon are mapping, testing and looking at ways to enhance the wetland, fresh water streams and the pond on Motuihe. The tests are for turbidity (how much sediment is suspended in the water), pH levels (acidity) and nitrate plus salinity for the streams near the beaches to see how far up the streams the salt water reaches. People visiting Motuihe and staying near the beaches are not necessarily aware that there is a range of typography on the island with steep gullies, big trees and a pond developed out of the farm's dam. This year's testing is to give a base line of data to enable a comparison to be made with testing results in future years. 


von Luckner's Bush stream

Snapper Bay Stream

Heritage
Jackie Rutherford's daughter lives in Switzerland and on a recent visit to her inlaws in Germany her attention was drawn to this picture on a Facebook page hosted by Tony Brunt who is a consultant for the Samoan museum. Samoa was a German colony at the start of WWI and New Zealand "captured" it and brought the German administration back to New Zealand and most of them were interned on Motuihe. 



VOLUNTEER TRIPS
Winter weeding Trips
Our last winter weeding trips took place this month, with 2 taxis and a total of 14 keen weeders spending a tiring but productive day collecting moth plant pods from Bald Knob and the cliffs above Calypso.  While moth plant continues to be a problem on the island, the combined efforts of many teams of volunteers guided by our hard-working leaders definitely seems to be having results.  We are now seeing large areas with relatively few vines.  Our new polesaw has opened up access through gorse to previously difficult-to-reach sites which can now be kept clear. The second taxi also had Fiona and Margaret on board to complete the Kukuwai testing programme.
Simon and his midweek trips will keep up the good work through Spring.
Jill Southlot

Rare Plants Trip 17 September
8 volunteers went out to the island on this very wet day.
Altogether volunteers pricked out:
64 kākābeak
187 koheriki (Scandia)
105 turutu (Dianella)
13 native broom (Carmichaelia)
and planted:
40 tauhinu
50 kākābeak
75 koheriki
Some blooming results from all the hard work by the kākābeak and threatened plants group this month with the first planting complete! It was a soggy day, but all the better to water the precious plants into their new sites. Kākābeak (Clianthus puniceus), tauhinu (Ozothamnus leptophyllus) and koheriki (Scandia rosifolia) are in the ground now and a second planting in early September will ensure that all the plants that are ready to go will be planted. The koheriki, in particular, were raring to go with almost every plant already producing flower buds.
In the nursery our kākābeak ‘orchard’ are showing off their gorgeous red flowers against a dainty backdrop of starry clematis – puawhānanga, which are also in full bloom. It is quite a show of our native spring flowers to cheer all the visiting volunteers.
There are still more threatened plant seedlings coming up in the nursery and the team also pricked out more kākābeak and koheriki seedlings. Kākābeak seed can remain dormant for a long time and we are finding that there is some slow and irregular germination happening this year, just to keep us on our toes! Koheriki grow fast and the seeds that were sown two months ago were already 10cm tall and ready for potting on.
A new threatened plant arrived during August too – coastal harebell (Wahlenbergia vernicosa). These seedlings had been growing under the care of John Mackenzie on Rakino and were brought over to the Motuihe nursery bare-rooted (to ensure all biosecurity processes were followed and no problematic hitchhikers came along with them). Chris and Monica Cotter were kind enough to collect and re-pot these precious arrivals. Have a look for the sign in the nursery to spot these plants next time you visit.
A huge thank you to all the fantastic volunteers who have contributed to this project’s success so far – especially those who have worked caring for the plants in the nursery. We also want to thank DoC, without whom this project would not be possible, as well as Ngāti Paoa and Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki for their ongoing support.
Bella Burgess

Maintenance Trips
Chris Cotter took his boat over to the island 3 times to do work on the Woolshed.