Rain by Hone Tuwhare
I can hear you
making small holes
in the silence
rain
If I were deaf
the pores of my skin
would open to you
and shut
And I
should know you
by the lick of you
if I were blind
the something
special smell of you
when the sun cakes
the ground
the steady
drum-roll sound
you make
when the wind drops
But if I
should not hear
smell or feel or see
you
you would still
define me
disperse me
wash over me
rain
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Kia ora, and welcome to On Stream, edition 4.
Now with added bonus features!
We’re expanding the remit of our e-newsletter because the work we do isn’t just about rivers and lakes, but the riverbanks and beyond, and the air above.
In this edition, we meet a small but mighty pest detective and a group of super kids. We’ve got money for Mother Nature…and, ‘Who you gonna call’ if you have the neighbour from hell? Hint: it’s not Ghostbusters.
It’s the season for hot chips and winter dips, wearing jumpers and hunting tail thumpers.
The poem, ‘Rain', is from Small Holes in the Silence: Collected Works (Godwit, Random House, 2011), Hone Tuwhare 2011, used with gratitude and by permission of Rob Tuwhare on behalf of the Estate of Hone Tuwhare.
Read on, you know you want to… |
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Meet Toby, pest detective
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Winter might be the time for jumpers, but wallabies are NOT the jumper we wanted. These little furry marsupials from Australia are a pest in New Zealand, destroying native forests and farms. And their numbers are growing rapidly.
 Enter Toby, 4, at best guess a spaniel crossed with a terrier (he’s a rescue).
Toby is a mighty tool in our wallaby control toolbox: a scat dog, which means he’s trained to find wallaby scat (poo). Toby and his tracker Amy work for High Country Contracting, part of ORCs wallaby control programme.
Toby has a boundless enthusiasm for his work (and the tennis ball) - perhaps it’s because he knows how lucky he is. Toby was due to be euthanised the day Amy and her father rescued him four years ago. Rescuing him turned out to be a boon for regional pest control, and very bad news for wallabies.
Toby’s collar is linked to software called WALLIS that tracks where they have been, so our wallaby control efforts are all mapped out.
 As well as detection dogs, High Country Contracting use new tech like drones and thermal cameras.
When you report a wallaby sighting, they will send a crew to track the pest down within 24 hours. We will have more stories about our wallaby control efforts in upcoming issues, so stay tuned.
Seen a wallaby? Report it! www.reportwallabies.nz |
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Just like secondhand smoke, but on a much larger scale, the people around you breathe what you burn in your woodfire during the winter months.
Woodsmoke pollution is reduced when residents burn only dry wood and keep their fire hot and not smouldering. Thermally efficient homes with good insulation can potentially reduce woodsmoke pollution as well.
For plenty of tips including on how to hear the difference between wet and dry wood (clue – tap them) and hot info head to www.orc.govt.nz/bdbe and click here to find out what you should and shouldn’t burn.
We all breathe easier, when we burn dry wood.
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See pollution, give the pollution hotline a bell
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The recent case of the neighbour who discharged septic waste onto next door’s section in North Otago is a timely reminder that our Pollution Hotline is the place to go if you observe an instance of pollution to water, air, or land in Otago.
 Just call 0800 800 033 or use the form on our website.
All notifications received are researched and evaluated to assess the potential environmental effects. The line is staffed 24/7 but due to the high volume of reports, we respond to the most serious incidents first.
All contact details are kept confidential. |
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Enviroschools - Central kids who care
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Congratulations to our 25 new ECO Fund recipients due to receive grants ranging from $1000 to $48,883 – totalling $443,125 this year!
From Dunedin and Oamaru to Mt Aspiring and Queenstown and in the south, to Tautuku and the Catlins area, these applicants are involved in sustained rabbit management ($100,000), native planting after wilding pine removal ($50,000) and native planting for water quality ($30,000).
A record 53 applications were submitted this year, and the fund was increased by $180,000 to a total of $470,000.
Some of the winners include:
- Southern Lakes Sanctuary; $26,125, Mohua/yellowhead for translocation, helicopters and bait stations, Queenstown Lakes area
- Haehaeata Natural Heritage Charitable Trust; $38,124, for community native plant nursery and wages, in Clyde
- Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust; $17,091, for native revegetation of yellow-eyed penguin habitat, at Long Point in the Catlins
- Save The Otago Peninsula Inc; $17,926, for fencing significant native forest remnant, education on native plantings in workshops and planting days, around Harbour Cone, on Otago Peninsula.
- Wakatipu Reforestation Trust; $45,733, environmental education in the Queenstown Lakes area.
- Cape Wanbrow; $2500, for native regeneration of titi/muttonbird habitat, Oamaru.
Find more and see the full list here.
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Tiaki Maniototo - Riparian it up!
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The Tiaki Maniototo Project (TM) has an ambitious goal of establishing up to 90,000 native riparian plants in the Maniototo over the next five years, and they are seeing the first signs of success.
ORC is providing in-kind support for the project, spread over the five years, and valued at $665,000. This comprises Wetlands mapping: modelling, processing, ground-truthing and reporting, habitat assessment and riparian willow control.
The Maniototo can be a harsh environment with climatic extremes and is recognised as one of the most difficult areas to establish natives. A pilot planting last Spring to test different plant species and planting methodologies scored a very pleasing 95% survival rate!
 Thirteen properties have been identified to begin the main planting program this Spring- that’s 13 000 plants to go in. If that’s not a win for biodiversity we don’t know what is!!!
Love their work? Follow the Tiaki Maniototo.project on social media.
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Thanks for your feedback to our Land Water plan
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We'd like to thank everyone who told us what they value about our lakes, rivers, streams and wetlands. 568 surveys were completed across Otago by eight communities including Catlins, Dunedin, Dunstan, Lower Clutha, North Otago, Roxburgh, Taieri and Upper Lakes.
Among these results, the values with the strongest responses were water quality, swimming, non-contact recreation, such as walking, sightseeing, camping, and water take/use. Other values included fishing, aquatic species, threatened species, habitat, ecosystems, river flow and lake level, natural character, wetlands, and groundwater.
Your feedback will directly contribute to the development of our proposed Land and Water Regional Plan (LWRP), which will set new rules and regulations on water and land use and ensure the ongoing health of these waterways.
ORC will return to each community to present options for managing each freshwater management unit (FMU) and rohe/area during a second round of consultation. Following this, ORC will present a preferred management option to communities and discuss ways to implement the plan. It will reflect values identified during the consultation process, including those of mana whenua, Kāi Tahu.
ORC appreciates there are multiple consultations occurring and appreciate the efforts by those who have taken the time to engage in our process.
Further details on the plan framework and first round of consultation with communities can be found at: www.orc.govt.nz/lwrp
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Sunken trawler provides real life to oil spill drill
A desktop training session in controlling oil spills turned to a real exercise when news of a sunken fishing trawler reached the ORC’s Habourmaster. It was a chance for the team to practice their drill in real life and bring out the oil spill equipment and booms kept handy in case of a spill. The diesel fuel on the boat was largely contained.
Photo: Andrew Gibson
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South Dunedin Future programme
City and regional councillors are set to discuss a draft four-year programme plan to help the South Dunedin area adapt to climate change.
The plan has been jointly developed by the Dunedin City Council (DCC) and Otago Regional Council (ORC) as part of the South Dunedin Future programme.
The report and draft plan will be discussed by Councillors at the ORC Strategy and Planning Committee meeting on Wednesday 13 July. Read the full reports.
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Emmanuelle stands for a cleaner Otago for our kids. What do YOU stand for?
Want to make a difference? Thinking about standing in this year’s local government elections?
Make a CandiDATE and head along to an information event to hear about how to stand and what being on a council is all about. We'll be on hand to help at:
Central Otago Monteiths Alexandra, 5pm, 13 July I Queenstown Council Chambers, 6pm,18 July I Waitaki Oamaru Opera House 5.30pm, 18 July I Dunedin Toitu Otago Settlers Museum, 6pm, 27 July.
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Find out about monthly Otago Regional Council meetings here.
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Feel free to forward this email to anyone who might like to read it. If you have any story ideas, want to know anything specific about anything in this issue, let us know by emailing lisa.scott@orc.govt.nz. If you have been forwarded this email, you can sign up here. |
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