Cliffsides, Cave Rock, and Cricket

After brunch, we all hopped in the GatorWaka to begin our day. We had planned on visiting a Kiwi sustainable home but the owners had to cancel because of a family matter; instead, we went to a shopping complex in a restored historic tannery. We had a morning tea time, and looked through the shops in the Tannery including an upscale thrift store, an apothecary, and a bookstore. 

Group photo at teatime

On our way to our Godley Head hike, we passed through Sumner (where there were many surfers out enjoying the day), a subdivision of Christchurch; Godley was the founder of Christchurch. Before hiking, we utilized the playground equipment in the Taylor’s Mistake parking lot. 

Messing around in the park before the hike

We had a pleasant hike with stunning views of the ocean and cliffs, but we saw lots of 
unpleasant flowering Pig’s Ear along the trails (we spent a day of restoration pulling 
Pig’s Ear from a conservation site). We were able to spot the predator proof fence that 
marked our destination from the beginning of the hike. Once at the fence we passed 
through it and descended down a ladder to the coastline. We were on the search for 
white flippered penguins in the artificial burrows that had been placed there for them as 
part of a restoration project. We were rewarded by a few containing penguins, including 
burrows number 86 and 92. 

Penguin burrow that is currently inhabited 

Little penguin inside the burrow. Photo courtesy of Grace

Cave Rock 

After our hike concluded, we headed over to Cave Rock (Tuawera). The rock provided many adventuring opportunities, including climbing to the top, running from incoming waves surging through the hollow rock, and a log prime for a king of the hill style game. We then journeyed back to the Tannery for a lunch of sushi.

Playing a nice game of cricket

We began our journey back to Lincoln, but the university dorms were not our destination; instead we went to the cricket fields at the local domain, where we were schooled in the terms and rules of the game. We played a half-court version of cricket that reduced the field size and incorporated foul balls so our baseball-oriented minds could understand. The Killer Kiwis beat the Wacky Wekas by a score of 70 to 67 (go kiwis!). 

Ice cream Sunday courtesy of Colin

After dinner, Dr. Colin Meurk and some of his grad students stopped by the dorms for an ice cream Sunday (pun courtesy of Colin). Irish Creme, Triple Chocolate, and Forest Fruit Yogurt all tied for the best ice cream flavor, but Colin's yogurt was most definitely the favorite of everyone. We had a good chat with Colin and finally got to ask him about the much anticipated sea lion story; the grad students discussed the different ecological issues facing our respective countries with us. Overall a fantastic day and a great way to end our last weekend in New Zealand. - Lexie

Thursday, July 25 -Sheep, Greening Waipara, and Lip Sync

The start of our three day and two night trip was in full sun and pretty warm. Our first stop in the gatorwakawa was a green development called Pegasus. Here, we explored some for the pluses (rain gardens and swales, dark-sky lighting, and use of native plants) and minuses (used a lot of exotic plants) that the developer helped to set up. At the back of the development, there was some conserved open space where they are just beginning to restore with native plantings.

At the beach near Pegasus development

After tea time at Pukeko Junction, we explored the Greening Waipara project across many wineries and within the community of Waipara. The wineries incorporated biodiversity trails and planted natives within the planted vines. The idea is to provide habitat for insect predators that would eat the pests of the vines. Also - the biodiversity trails allow people to experience a little bit of their natural heritage while sipping their wine. We met with Daryl Harris, the local champion of the project and 4th generation rancher in the area. Daryl is a strong supporter of the project and has planted thousands of native plants in the area. He also uses his sheep to graze within the vineyards to keep weeds down.

Colin at Pegasus Bay Winery and the biodiversity trail

A longfin eel was sighted in the pond

Daryl explaining hos philosophy of pesticide reduction and planting natives

Daryl's Bear (the sheepdog) herding merino sheep

Daryl sorting out the sheep

We placed our belongings at the Sleeper Cars Backpackers at Waipara. We then went over to Daryl's for a home cooked meal of lamb, beef, roasted veggies and pavlova for dessert. Incredible! Then we had our traditional lip sync contest - much fun all around. Even had several games of the card game mafia. After dinner, had a cooold night in the sleeper cars

Night night. Dr H

Over the Hedge and Through the Bush, "Hey Give Me a Push!"

Throughout New Zealand in the winter, it is acutely noticeable which plants are native and which are exotic. Non-native plants, those not adapted to the climate, tend to shed their leaves during the colder and darker winter months. In turn, their barren grey branches await sunnier October days to take full advantage of their photosynthetic potential. Endemic plants, however, are better acclimated to Aotearoa. In the states, we would colloquially call these plants "ever-green". Most land owners plant hedgerows lined with exotics to surround their property and protect it from wind (especially if farming), but some land owners break the mold and choose to plant natives instead.

These "ever-green" native plants are exactly the kinds of plants Pauline and Malcolm choose to circle their 15 acre property. A decade or so ago, Dr. Hostetler worked up the gumption to visit this retired couple after driving by their property many times. Ever since, every UF in NZ class has visited them and been a hit! Today we saw the usual suspects when it comes to native flora: Harekeke, kahikatea, totara, kowhai, five finger, juvenile lancewoods, manuka, cabbage palm, tarata, and a whole slew of pittosporums. Spread out amongst these natives, a few exotics stood: Gum trees, oaks, pines, rhodendrons, and azaleas. Pauline and Malcolm are admirers of birds, and their property was very conducive to bird spotting. Their property is one of the few unique ones in the Selwyn area to feature natives over exotics.

Malcolm greets the group and introduces his property.

Malcolm and Pauline's beautiful home.

Spot of tea in hand, Pauline regaled us with tales of the couple moving to the area, the evolution of their piece of land, the first exotics they planted, the earthquakes, and the rabbit problem. Malcolm is more keen to removing rabbits with a .22LR rifle, but the couple agreed to lay out poison from now on. Malcolm manages 20 head of cattle on his property, but used to raise sheep in the paddocks. A pair of "chooks" - chickens - , also roam their section of the yard, but prefer the warm and dry coop far away from the prying eye of harriers and falcons. Other birds that call the residence home are California Quail and pheasants. 

Native hedgerow in the background with exotics in the foreground.

Chook house in the foreground with more native hedgerows in the back.

"I saw a bunny outside the window looking right at me!"

After heartfelt goodbyes and a quick group photo, the class filed into the Gator Waka to head towards Christchurch and the Art Gallery. Te Puna o Waiwhetu hosted many collections of art from both European and Maori sources. The most compelling piece was "chicken/man", which has been described by the artist, Ron Mueck, as "just the right blend of the mundane and the surreal." A seated man in only his undergarments stares balefully at a chicken standing atop a kitchen table. The chook returns the gaze and now both are locked in a humorous staring contest. The humor is undercut by an air of uncertainty.

If you stare into the abyss, the abyss stares back at you.

Humorous? Absurd? Surreal? Serious? What do you think?

As 19th century philosopher Georg Hegel once formulated, "Art is the sensuous presentation of ideas." What ideas does such a piece present for us to perceive? Is it commentary on humanity's exploitation of animals and their by-products? A more general criticism of man's alienation from nature and how at odds we are with the surrounding environment? The absurdity of life that undercuts existence as a whole? Is it merely art for art's sake? What do you see? Leave a comment below.

After an hour of exploring the museum it was time for lunch and then a quick walk up to the Arts Centre. The Arts Centre was home to many boutique stores selling jewellery, stationary, fudge, and much more. Some bought goods for personal use, others bought gifts and mementos for home. The final stop in Christchurch for the day was the Margaret Mahy Playground. With enough room for all of us and the local children, we burned off our excess energy on the slides, swings, and jungle-gyms. We also experienced a flying-fox! We missed out on the opportunity at New Brighton Beach and were glad to have pushed our classmates off to zip around.

There go Tati and Grace! Never to be seen again (not really).

Exhausted, we made a quick tea-time stop and Coffee Culture and were briefed on our last overnight trip, Waipara and Kaikoura. Hard to think we only have a week left in New Zealand! - Bauer

In the Clouds

Our first day back in Christchurch from our Free Weekend and we headed for another restoration project near Birdlings Flat. This project is set on 650 hectares, which also includes 1500 sheep and interestingly enough, is owned by an American conservationist. This piece of property is his own personal project, where hopefully The hills will be restored to native forest from plantings that will grow iinto a seed source which will allow nature to reforest the rest of the surrounding areas.

The variety of different kinds of plants planted displays this, including Coprosma, New Zealand Flax, and Lancewood. This is all part of an experimental process, to which one of the tenants, Rima gave us more information about. Over the last four years, there have been over 4,000 plants planted. These plants have it tough, as the area is near the ocean with lots of wind and harsh temperature changes (some rainy times, some drought), making it a tough climate for plants to survive in. Not only do they have to battle the ocean winds, but they are harsh Southerly winds. These plants also are consumed by hares, and as Rima mentioned, one hare can decimate around 1,000 plants in just one weekend.

Everyone listening intently to Rima while she explains how to properly mulch a plant

Our job today was to help with the not-so-glamourous (far less so than planting) weeding and mulching process to ensure that these plants didn't get overgrown by exotic grasses, or eaten by hares. We focused on pulling out all the weeds under and around the plastic wire cages that enclose the plants. These grasses are dense and hard to eliminate without animals grazing, which causes even more difficult for the natural plants to be able to establish themselves. After pulling out the grasses surrounding the plant as well as around the protective fence of each plant, we were instructed to use dry grass to place surrounding the plant as mulch to ensure that the moisture would stay in and that no weeds would grow through it. We started off on one side of the mountain, working until lunch to pull out all the weeds and mulching a planting site that Dr. Hostetler's students planted in 2016.

Working hard to ensure the plants are free of any weeds

Dylan and his helper, Bonnie, mulching a plant

After having lunch in the clouds (literally), we began our trek down the other side of the mountain where we continued to pull weeds and mulch a one year old site of native plantings. The difference seen in the mulching from both sides was clear, proving to us that this process clearly benefits the plants when done properly.

Eating lunch in the clouds

Once finishing up with our weeding, we had a beautiful walk down that included all of us on the hunt for agate. We finished up our day with a trip to the aqua center, where we all enjoyed the warm relaxation pool, and of course the lazy river. - Tess

Proud of our weeding!

Red Zone Restoration

       Today we revisited the Red Zone to help out with restoration with Dr. Colin Meurk and Scott Butcher from the Avon Otakoro Network. This group was formed in 2015 and does ecological work in the Red Zone by trying to establish a forest park and other vegetation that would’ve existed in this area historically.

The site that we went to is leased to them by the government for about 5 years. This short amount of time makes it hard to do restoration, but the goal is to plant enough natives that eventually the land becomes self-sustaining and there needs to be minimal intervention from the group. They hope that with all the new planting, native forest birds like the Kereru, fantail, and Tui will hopefully come flooding back. In fact, there were several fierce fantails fluttering round our site as we were working, possibly being a positive omen for the future of this land. 

As with most of the sites that we have been completing restoration on, Dr. Meurk reminded us that the central idea for these ecological corridors is to create a stepping stones throughout the city that will provide native wildlife habitat while coexisting with people. The Red Zone is heavily mowed, which encourage the growth of weeds and discourages the growth of native seedlings, and Dr. Meurk estimated that mowing costs about 1-2 million dollars a year. In the end, we ended up planting over 105 native species. This includes coprosma, lancewood, and even some baby totora! 

After stopping for some lunch, we headed on to our next destination. On the way, Dr. Meurk stopped by a river filled with Canadian Geese and other waterfowl. He stopped by a tree with lichen growing on it and let us all try out his handy pocket magnifying glass. He told us about how blue-green aglae fixate nitrogen and that we should all put that small magnifier on our shopping list. 

We then went on over to the Avebury House and met with Tanya the keeper of the house. This large Victorian House used to be owned by the Flesher Family back in the 1850s but is now used as a sort of Community Center. Yoga classes, workshops, and various clubs use this space harmoniously. The house has been threatened many times to be torn down, but the community always assembles and saves it. 

The house also has a community garden that is maintained weekly by citizens of the town and many of the food is either donated or sold. We walked through the native garden, called Koru Garden. It is named after the Maori word for loop or coil, represented by an unfurling silver fern frond. The unfurling fern is a symbol of rebirth, growth, and strength. In fact, a small part of the garden is planted in the shape of a spiral and circulates around a large wooden carving of a fern. Dr. Meurk walked us through the forested part of the garden which is home to large native trees like the totora, lemonwood, and kauri tree. He told us that the canopy cover of the larger trees provides the perfect space for their seedlings to grow. In fact, we stumbled upon two small totora seedlings just beginning their climb towards the sky. 

After saying goodbye to Dr. Meurk and the Avebury House, we piled into the Gator Waka and had teatime at a C4. Tomorrow starts our free weekend in Queenstown, but we will be back on Monday to explore more of the Canterbury region. - Tatiana

Dr. Colin Meurk and the group at the Red Zone

Planting natives and helping to restore the Red Zone

Taking a peak at some lichen growing on this tree

The group at Avebury House

A portion of the community garden at Avebury House that will be donated

The group and Dr. Meurk at the Koru Garden

Learning about the native trees that provide canopy cover to seedlings in the Koru Garden

planting, planting, and more planting!

Today consisted primarily of restoration projects.  Our first stop was at the Ka Putahi Creek.  Here we meet with Antony Shadbolt who has worked in conservation and gardening for 32 years.  Antony started off as a gardener but then got his bachelors and Lincoln and his graduate degree at the University of Canterbury.  The property we were at was next to the Sticks River.  With the Sticks River having mostly a rural surrounding, there was a huge push for Canterbury's environmental organization to buy land around the river, especially with it being the second most potent waterway in Christchurch, and possibly to best one in the future. The six values for land use that are guidelines to the restoration process are the following: Drainage, culture, heritage, recreation, ecology, and landscape.  Antony explained how these values are incorporated into restoration projects, such as sedimentation ponds that improve the water quality, or their protection of multiple fish species in the area so that the Maori can harvest them.  We quickly stopped at a lookout for different birds, including the paradise Shell duck and Grey Tail duck.  Interestingly enough, there are no Canadian geese in this area, due to there being no grass around the ponds.  Another cool part of the property was that instead of fully unwanted trees, they saved enough of it so that they could use it as a structure for bird nests.  They would also put a metal sheet around the tree so that possums could not climb up and harm the birds.  We then planted marble leaf, small leaf coprasma, and matai at the first site.  The soil was extremely soft, which made for a quick finish to the 89 plants planted at the site.  We then went to another spot by Sticks River, where we got right into the mud and planted some tussock grass in order to restore the wetlands. One interesting fact Antony told us was that the Magpies will come and try and take out the grass, basically because they don't like them. At our final site, we pushed on through the rain to help a local park ranger spread mulch around plants on the gated property.

Antony explaining to the group the different birds and plants around the property

Antony shows us how to property plant 

The group hard at work at the first site

Proud of our hard work planting at the first site

Pete the pinecone poses with his spade in front of his hard work

Mulching through the storm

Filling up a wheelbarrow through the rain

After we planted 238 plants at the first two sites, and over 20 wheelbarrows full of mulch moved at the third site, we made our way to C1 espresso to warm up and reward ourselves for a hard day's work. - Joe