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Education Beyond the Classroom

Waiwhakareke Natural Heritage Park is the subject of an article in the New Zealand Education Gazette. The article by Hamilton Zoo Educator Ken Millwood promotes the upcoming 2012 Arbor Day which will be held at the park.  Read the article here.

City Green Article

Waiwhakareke Natural Heritage Park has again been recognised as an example of successful ecological restoration in a recent issue of Singapore publication City Green. City Green is produced four times a year by the Singapore National Parks Board and provides insight into various facets of conservation with examples from around the world.

The article, written by Bruce Clarkson, Catherine Bryan and Fiona Clarkson from the Centre for Biology and Ecology Research (CBER) at the University of Waikato) focuses specifically on Waiwhakareke and is entitled 'Reconstructing Hamilton's Ecosystems - The Waiwhakareke Natural Heritage Park'. The article outlines the vision for the park and discusses the science of the restoration.  It is great to see international publicity being gained for the project. Let's hope this momentum continues.

View the 2012 City Green article 'Reconstructing Hamilton's Ecosystems - The Waiwhakareke Natural Heritage Park' here

Read the 2011 City Green article 'Ecological Restoration in New Zealand - Parks for Biodiversity' here

For more information about the City Green publication including how to subscribe visit the website www.citygreen.sg

Friends of Waiwhakareke Picnic Success

Friends of Waiwhakareke, led by Moira Cursey, hosted a neighbourhood picnic at Waiwhakareke Natural Heritage Park on Sunday 18 March 2012. Invitations were extended to surrounding residents, particularly on Baverstock Road, though anyone was welcome to come along to the event.

Approximately 60 people turned up with packed afternoon tea. They were treated to speeches on each aspect of the park by experts from each of the project partner organisations. After the speeches, HCC Community Planting Coordinator Gerard Kelly led the group on a walk around Lake Waiwhakareke to the peat bog and then up over the ridge crests to Brymer Road.

Kids loved rushing through the bush pretending to be kiwis, discovering spider webs and generally having a fun afternoon out in nature. This was a great afternoon event which promises to be repeated by the Friends after the winter months!

Tui Nesting at Hamilton Zoo

Staff at Hamilton Zoo have recently observed Tui nesting in trees at the facility.  Zoo Keeper Kara Goddard said that there has been regular sightings of tui over the last few winters with up to ten different birds being spotted. 

Tui have been spotted over the 2011/12 summer and staff observed behaviour that indicated  tui may be breeding at the Zoo. This was confirmed by Ms Goddard who discovered a pair nesting in the Weka Walk and heard the sound of two or three chicks being fed from the nest.

This is great news as Waiwhakareke is only a stones throw from the Zoo and can act as an ecological stepping stone for tui to enter further into Hamilton City. Let's hope we see the spread of tui into the park in coming years.

Chinese Delegation Visit

A delegation of Chinese Local Government officials visited Waiwhakareke Natural Heritage Park in November 2011. The six-strong group included five representatives of the People’s Government of Nansha District, from the south-east China province of Guangdong.

The Group were in New Zealand as part of a local government fact finding mission.  Visiting the park was an aside to fulfil their interest in conservation and to discover out how ecological restoration is being undertaken in New Zealand.

Paul Duffy, Council’s Natural Areas Contracts Supervisor, said the delegation visited the park for about 90 minutes, during which staff explained the work that has gone into the project to date and answered any questions the group had. More>

'Pukeko Stomp' hits Waiwhakareke

A troupe of over 550 Scouts hit Waiwhakareke this Summer, stomping down weeds and helping the Natural Heritage Park to avoid many of the plant losses it normally faces at the height of Summer's heat.

The Scouts, who were attending Mystery Creek's National Scout Jamboree over Christmas and New Year, volunteered their time at Waiwhakarkeke as part of their community service project.

Over 6 days through the height of the summer heat they persisted with helping to keep down weeds around the 35,000 plus plants planted last year by community groups.

What affectionately became known as the 'pukeko stomp' was a very effective way of dealing to invasive weeds that could have potentially over grown the new plantings. Due to their contribution losses have been minimal, so a big thank you to all those involved. Get involved >

WEL grant means more public paths for Waiwhakareke

Next year Hamiltonians will have even greater access to Waiwhakareke - the city’s award-winning natural heritage park. WEL Energy Trust has granted the project $25,000 to extend the park’s network of public paths in 2011. Hamilton City Council reserves planner Andrew Corkill says, “A real challenge is in the works for Arbour Day 2011. A challenge all businesses and the community can be proud of. These walkways open up ground zero – the place where it’s all going to happen! We are very pleased with the announcement.” More>

Super volunteer honoured

Over 60 volunteers turned out for a day of weed whacking at Waiwhakareke on 5 December to celebrate International Volunteers Day. Stepping into the spolight on the day was 'super volunteer' Craig Tehuia who recieved an award for his outstanding committment to the project. Returning from nightshift to volunteer, Craig has contributed over 73 hours as a volunteer through Fonterra's Catchment Care programme. More>

Digging in

Waiwhakareke Natural Heritage Park is one of the big success stories to come out of Hamilton’s eight city strategies. It is a flagship project in the Environmental Sustainability Strategy, and a shining example of what is being done to make Hamilton a better place to live. City News spoke to one of the men behind this hidden jewel. More>