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Kia ora - welcome to our Spring Newsletter #14
We arrived back in New Zealand from our 6-week holiday to London, France, Barcelona and Italy on 11 June. That date is etched in our memories because it was the first anniversary of our 2006 horrendous snowfall. This year, as we flew into New Zealand our first impression was of the scarcity of snow - the Foothills Ranges of the Southern Alps had barely a dusting. Our second impression was of the changing landscape of the Canterbury Plains – now no longer a chequerboard of multi-coloured paddocks bounded by hedgerows and shelterbelts. What we saw below us were many green circles and few shelterbelts. The landscape of the plains is changing as more and more sheep and cropping farms and forest plantations are converted to dairy farms. With the strong worldwide demand for dairy products (and the lack of strong financial returns for sheep farmers) this change will continue – provided more sources of water for irrigation are found.
In the second half of the 19th century in New Zealand large areas of forest were converted to pasture. The goal then was to obtain an economic return from the land. Unfortunately much more forest was destroyed than was necessary. Our forefathers had little understanding that the destruction of the forests would have long-term consequences - extinction of native species, erosion in the mountains and silting up of the rivers.
Now, at the beginning of the 21st century we need to be asking what will be the long-term effects of dairying? Depletion of biodiversity on dairying land, rivers running dry, depleting aquifers, high nutrient levels in costal streams, increasingly more eutrophic lakes may all be warning signs of worse to come. We blamed our forefathers for the stupid decisions they made - introducing rabbits, deer, possums and stoats, growing pines in the high country, growing gorse and broom hedges on the plains. Will our children hold us in like regard when they have to live with the consequences of the rush to turn the Canterbury Plains into a large dairy factory?
Tussock & Beech News
Lake Heron
We were shocked when the Department of Conservation decided to extend 4WD access around the south shore of Lake Heron but were relieved when Al Morrison, Director General of DOC, cancelled the decision. This issue is now being revisited and we are hopeful that a decision will be made which will not compromise the important conservation values of this nationally important nature reserve.
$8.8 million for wetland conservation
The Green Party won funding in Budget 2007 to be used in the restoration of three important wetlands. One of them is the Ashburton Lakes, Lake Heron and the upper Rangitata River. It is more than 10 times the funding these wetlands have had to date and it will enable DOC to do serious work to protect their high conservation values.
Tussock & Beech programmes
Both our Lost World of Erewhon (24 November – 1 December) & Akaroa Idyll (10 – 17 March 2008) programmes are full. We could run a second Akaroa programme from 3 – 10 April if there is sufficient interest. We would like to trial an Alpine Flowers tour in early December. The itinerary is planned to include Aoraki & Arthurs Pass National Parks, Mt Dobson & Fox Peak, Lake Heron, Mt Hutt and the Porters Pass area. Please get in touch if you are interested. - (03) 303 0880, ecotour@nature.net.nz.
Fauna & Flora News
Fantail / piwakawaka – Last year I bemoaned their devastation by the snow and the bitterly cold weather which followed & I predicted that it would be a long time before they returned. But by autumn this year they were back – not in large numbers but enough to emphasise what a resilient little bird the fantail is.
Nationwide bird garden survey – held in July 2007. Preliminary results have shown that blackbirds are the most common birds found in NZ gardens (90% of gardens recorded them present). Natives which scored well included silvereye/tauhou 81%, fantail 38%, tui and bellbird/korimako 25%, grey warbler/riroriro 15% and bush pigeon/keruru 12%.
Annual winter Ashburton Lakes Bird Census – This year the survey followed a prolonged spell of clear, cold weather. Consequently many of the lakes carried few birds because they were frozen over & the birds were replaced by ice skaters! 80% of the total number of birds counted (3660) was on Lake Heron (my beat) which included 29 crested grebe and 2272 NZ scaup.
The Aussi invaders - Welcome swallow, spur-winged plover and white-faced heron are now active around us – another sign of the onset of spring. Although recent arrivals to New Zealand (1950-60’s) they are regarded as native because they self-introduced, thanks to the prevailing westerly winds which blew them here from Australia. Many black swan also arrived in New Zealand in the 1960’s as “unassisted immigrants”. Although first introduced to New Zealand in the 1860’s by the Canterbury Acclimatisation Society, their more recent self-introduction gives cause for them to be now considered native species.
From the kitchen – Onion Jam
It’s very handy to have some Onion Jam in the fridge. Easy to make & it has 101 uses – like relish. I use it to accompany Toad in the Hole (pan grilled sausages cooked in a crispy Yorkshire Pudding batter), on savoury pastry shapes with feta cheese & with cheese-on-toast.
40g butter
4 med (600g) brown onions, sliced thinly
1/3c (75g) packed brown sugar
1t salt
3/4c (180ml) dry white wine
1//4c (60ml) white wine vinegar
1/3c (80ml) sherry
Heat butter, add onions, cook covered, stirring occasionally about 25 minutes or until very soft.
Stir in sugar, salt, wine, vinegar and sherry. Simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally about 30 minutes or until thick. Spoon into a hot, sterilised jar.
A nice addition is some orange zest & whole fennel seeds.
We send our very best wishes to you.
Ka kite ano.
Marita & Warren
