An Environmental Special Event
KAMO INTERMEDIATE SCHOOL
Te Kura Takawaenga O Kamo
SPECIAL K.I.S ENVIRONMENTAL EVENT
K.I.S Environment - 2006
THE MAGIC OF TIRITIRI
By Te Aniwa C (Matai KidzBiz Journalist – 2006)
Tiritiri Matangi, meaning ‘Buffeted by the wind’ was our island
destination on the 15th of June. We left Kamo Intermediate at 6:45am to
travel all the way to Whangaparoa, to catch a ferry to the Island.
After, let’s say losing our bearings, we were soon parked up and feeding
our rumbly tummies with morning tea. Most of us hadn’t been to Tiritiri
before, and almost all of us thought it would be an absolute bore - but
we were soon to find out…
The wind whipping through our hair, hammering us with a massive force,
gripping on to the rail as though if we didn’t we would fly away,
watching the sea birds duck and dive in the waves. Standing at the front
of the ferry was a blast! The trip over on the boat didn’t take much
time at all and with a forest covered, flat-topped island in view we
were all preparing to leave the ferry. We jumped off raring to go
(having recovered from the early morning wake up), and walked in a
scattered line across the wharf. To greet us was a sadly uncommon sight
nowadays- two large Takahe plucking around as though we weren’t even
there. The Takahe plumage was similar to their cousins the Pukeko but
dark, deep greens and purples were mixed in like a painted artwork. The
caretakers of Tiri Tiri Matangi- Ray and Barbara, spoke to us about the
island and the birds on it, they also introduced us to our guides and
had the final word by saying we could go. The magic of Tiritiri was
about to awe us.
The sound of singing birds in the bush was strong as we walked up a
small hill to the dam where a lonely brown teal was gliding around
leaving ripples in the calm, clear water. We were directed down the
‘Wattle Track’ and our eyes and ears pricked up and became sharp as
knives, we weren’t going to let any birds get away with not being seen
or heard. The sound through the bush was tremendous and our poor guide
had to recognise all the sounds we were picking up, but the first birds
to be seen were the Tui and Bellbird. But then another bird caught our
attention. A little Saddleback. It had almost slipped away while we were
watching the other two birds. Far off just behind the Tui’s wattle tree
the terracotta saddle had given this bird away, none of us had seen it
before and even the tiny little glimpse we had, had amazed us. Along the
track more Tui and Bellbirds were there to greet us along with the
almost camouflaged red crowned Parakeet and darting Stitchbird. The true
meaning of Tiritiri Matangi was being shown to us at it’s full
potential. We saw and heard more and more birds, the list too long to
count, so many birds that we had never seen on the main land were
absolutely flourishing on this island. But as another small hill greeted
us we made our way to our pit stop- the shop and building where we
would have our lunch. Peering up at the sky into the black clouds while
the rain came rushing down we were soon running trying to get away from
it’s damp, moist grip. The shelter of the lunchroom was well appreciated
as everyone came in completely soaking.
A huge range of beautiful souvenirs was available at the tiny shop.
Toys, postcards, pens, address books- you name it they had it. Everyone
came out with at least one item to do our part to help support the
volunteers of Tiritiri; the ones who help guide, plant, do all the work
and can have most of the glory for making Tiritiri Matangi the island it
was- all with out pay. But as the rain subsided it was time for us to
leave. After saying our ‘Thankyou’s’ we all headed towards the long,
downhill track that was leading us home. We came to grass covered hill
and standing at the top provided us a wonderful view of Tiritiri and the
surrounding islands, you could see the effort and time that had gone
into providing these birds a good, predator-free home. Little Blue
Penguins had their 5 minutes of fame when we discovered them in the
nesting boxes but as we were walking down the beach with the ferry in
sight everyone sighed - the overwhelming impressions of Tiritiri Matangi
passing through, we were disappointed of having to leave.
We weren’t so energetic to get back on to the boat but we still all
rushed to the front waiting for the speed and wind to pick up. Turning
to see TiriTiri Matangi almost bobbing on the horizon, the island were
we had spent so much of the day, and the abundance of it almost
travelling across the water still enthralling us.
Another wonderful adventure had finished, another class trip over and…
dreading it… another school day tomorrow!
PICTURESQUE PLANTING-
MATAI’S TRIP TO THE QUARRY GARDENS
By Selina K (Matai KidzBiz Journalist-2006)
A greenhouse for propagating plants, a worm farm for making fantastic
fertilizer, and The Islands Of Life native garden, designed especially
to bring back the birds… Matai syndicate is the school environmental
team always ready to help the community, with environmental projects.
In late July and early August, the four Matai classes split in half to
tackle two days of planting at the Quarry Gardens. Due to several arson
attacks, the native trees and once beautiful gardens have been partly
destroyed and are in need of replanting. The Matai teachers took this
opportunity to educate our syndicate about our environment and it’s
needs, so planned for Rooms 8 & 9 to visit the gardens on the 31st
of July, and for Rooms 6 & 7 to visit on the 2nd of August. They
also arranged for the native plants that we propagated in our
greenhouse, to be transported to the quarry.
On the day of the trip, we clonked towards the bus in our gumboots,
spades in hand, and awkwardly stepped up into the vehicle.
Our arrival at the gardens was somewhat ungraceful, with everyone
stumbling down the steps onto the rough gravel driveway. A local
volunteer worker, named Dave, spent ten minutes or so explaining about
different environmental projects around the Whangarei District, but his
speech was mainly about the quarry. He thanked our school for donating
the plants and for volunteering to plant them, because without our help
it would have been a huge task. He also explained about the fires and
the damage inflicted on the gardens recently.
We began to walk up the road to the lake, which the quarry volunteers
have recently drained. Rocks, falling from the overhead cliff, have
cracked holes in the cement on the edge of the lake, which was causing
water to seep into the earth. They drained the lake to repair it,
because they couldn’t keep the water in.
The animal and insect life in the lake includes small fish and different
species of birds, but the grossest thing is that it is full of New
Zealand native leeches! Dave also said that the quarry gardens are home
to unwanted pests, such as possums. Recently, after they drained the
lake, they discovered rat prints all over the mud and sludge on the lake
floor. Apparently this was quite a shock for the workers!
Dave led us over to the other side of the lake, where we were going to
be doing the planting. The view from there was stunning. A waterfall was
flowing from the top of the cliff down into the lake, and if you looked
back down towards the buses, you could see right between the hills to
the busy streets and people of Whangarei.
The plants were still in their pots, laid out where we were supposed to
plant them. He quickly showed us how to plant them, then we got to work.
We got to the task, each of us having 3-5 plants to plant. Everyone was
laughing, chatting, heaving soil in and out of freshly dug holes.
Once we were finished, Dave decided to take us for a tour around the
quarry and to teach us about the plant life. Our first stop was up the
hill at the Arid Gardens.
As we walked up the path towards the Arid Gardens, we realized just how
much of it had been ruined. To the right of the path, succulents and
different species of cacti were growing brilliantly, and everything
looked healthy and maintained. However to the left of the path, just a
few plants were dotted here and there, all of them either overturned,
broken, or struggling to stay alive. In between them, was a mess of
black wood, roots and fallen branches. A lot of trees and saplings had
perished and fallen over, uplifting roots and causing soil to erode onto
the path. Nature and the plant life had suffered a lot. Dave took a
minute to show us what is happening to the bush because of the fires,
and explained about the eroding soil and the damage that it could
potentially cause.
He also told us that the plants in the Arid Gardens were selected
especially because they are tough, and can go for long periods without
water. In the summertime the Arid Gardens can get to pretty extreme
heats; the record being broken this year in January with a whopping
47˚C! Dave said that a lot of visitors in the summer, are not prepared
for the heat, and signs have yet to be put up, warning people, as it can
be dangerous.
Amongst the unburned bush, Dave pointed out that there are native snails
and also centipedes, which most of the workers have developed a habit
of avoiding!
As we came down the hill from the Arid Gardens, we took an alternative
route down a narrow path, that wound down the side of a steep slope.
Along the way we saw some remains of the old quarry, crumbling cement
blocks and decaying equipment. We eventually made our way down the track
back to the buses, slipping and stumbling, and banging into trees. We
left the Quarry Gardens masked in mud and covered in bruises. It had
been a fantastic day!
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