Endangered native tree revived
A tree in danger of dying out in New Zealand has been revived thanks to the keen eye of a Porirua City Council nursery employee.
The waiwaka tree, or swamp maire (Syzygium maire), was believed to have completely died off in Porirua until Andrew Jinks discovered a small group of them on his walk home through Rānui last year.
The native wetland tree grows throughout coastal and lowland swamps of the North Island and are important species to regenerate native wetland forests and to protect coastal areas from erosion, but are currently considered critically threatened.
Andrew was heading up Bromley View when a small gully of trees caught his eye. He noticed other natives such as totara and rimu in the gully and decided to take a closer look, spotting the waiwaka.
“It was actually the first time I had seen the tree in person but I knew it had distinctive pale and flaky bark, so I took a couple snaps and sent it to a local ecologist friend of mine to help classify it.” The last reported siting of the waiwaka growing in Porirua was over 100 years ago but Andrew and Porirua City Council will reintroduce the tree to our city’s harbour, parks, and surrounding forests.
Hundreds of seedlings have been grown at the city nursery, from the fruit of the small group of trees found by Andrew. These seedlings will begin to be replanted in the coming months in places like the Elsdon wetland and Hokorito Stream in Titahi Bay.
Andrew recalls when he first came to New Zealand in 1986 from Wales and the sight of pine trees and gorse covering the hills of Wellington. “We used to play the game ‘count the possums’ when we were driving on the highway,” he says, “and now I see native birds and plants, like the kohekohe, reclaiming their native habitat all around Porirua.” Situated at 106 Sievers Grove in eastern Porirua, the nursery offers a variety of plants at wholesale prices. Normally open to the public 12.30–3.30pm on weekdays, it is closed until 17 September.
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Visit: poriruacity.govt.nz.
Call: (04) 237 5089
Poll: Would you rather: Christmas in summer forever or winter forever?
Just a bit of a fun poll to get you thinking.
If you had to live out your Christmas days, would you prefer it was a summer Christmas or a winter Christmas?
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62.1% Summer
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36.4% Winter
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1.5% Other - I'll share below
Best way to use leftovers?
I'm sure you've got some excess ham at home or cold roast potatoes.
What are some of your favourite ways to use leftover food from Christmas day? Share below.
⚠️ DOGS DIE IN HOT CARS. If you love them, don't leave them. ⚠️
It's a message we share time and time again, and this year, we're calling on you to help us spread that message further.
Did you know that calls to SPCA about dogs left inside hot cars made up a whopping 11% of all welfare calls last summer? This is a completely preventable issue, and one which is causing hundreds of dogs (often loved pets) to suffer.
Here are some quick facts to share with the dog owners in your life:
👉 The temperature inside a car can heat to over 50°C in less than 15 minutes.
👉 Parking in the shade and cracking windows does little to help on a warm day. Dogs rely on panting to keep cool, which they can't do in a hot car.
👉 This puts dogs at a high risk of heatstroke - a serious condition for dogs, with a mortality rate between 39%-50%.
👉 It is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act to leave a dog in a hot vehicle if they are showing signs of heat stress. You can be fined, and prosecuted.
SPCA has created downloadable resources to help you spread the message even further. Posters, a flyer, and a social media tile can be downloaded from our website here: www.spca.nz...
We encourage you to use these - and ask your local businesses to display the posters if they can. Flyers can be kept in your car and handed out as needed.
This is a community problem, and one we cannot solve alone. Help us to prevent more tragedies this summer by sharing this post.
On behalf of the animals - thank you ❤️
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