Sunday 11 December 2016
Thursday 8 December 2016
Monday 5 December 2016
Tiritiri Matangi
This is Liz, one of the Tiritiri educators talking to us about being volunteers, changing our behaviour and working to create an invader free NZ. She gave us an informative and fun lesson about protecting our native wildlife.
Wednesday 30 November 2016
Yellow Admiral Butterflies
We got a very special delivery to school this morning, some yellow admiral caterpillars. We are excited to have the chance to watch these caterpillars munch through our stinging nettle and turn into pupa and then butterflies. We'd like to thank Wendy Barber, from Cambridge for sending the cats by overnight courier and to the Monarch Butterfly trust for leading us to Wendy. They are so furry and have cute heart-shaped faces.
Sunday 27 November 2016
Official Butterfly, bee and bug habitat opening
What a beautiful morning to have guests, Northland Regional Councillor, John Bain, Enviroschools Northland co-ordinator, Susan Karels, Primary Enviroschools facilitator, Julie Holt and NRC Pest Biosecurity officer, Steve Henderson, along to school to help us officially open our new Butterfly, bee and bug habitat.
The enviro team and the senior students have worked hard over the last 6 months to turn an enormous area of garden, overgrown with kikuyu, into a new habitat, complete with artwork, butterfly watering hole and NZ native and introduced plants, some of which will be used to make natural creams and balms for sale.
While at school the students also took our guests on a tour of the Wetland and showed them the new bridge built by Mr Darwent. Our visitors were the first to use the new QR codes which are to be printed on metal tree labels for use by the students and community.
Here are a few of the pics from the day.
The enviro team and the senior students have worked hard over the last 6 months to turn an enormous area of garden, overgrown with kikuyu, into a new habitat, complete with artwork, butterfly watering hole and NZ native and introduced plants, some of which will be used to make natural creams and balms for sale.
While at school the students also took our guests on a tour of the Wetland and showed them the new bridge built by Mr Darwent. Our visitors were the first to use the new QR codes which are to be printed on metal tree labels for use by the students and community.
Here are a few of the pics from the day.
The first of our Tiritiri Matangi Island Trips
On the 25th November the Reduce, reuse, recycle and edible gardens enviro teams went to Tiritiri Matangi Island. The students impressed their guides Eileen and Hohepa with all their knowledge of the history of the island, the birds and some of the trees. Myristicine was the girl's word of the day - the potent healing chemical found in Kawakawa leaves. This chemical is produced by the plant and sent to leaves damaged by the Kawakawa looper. It heals the edges of the holes they make, hence the leaves with the most holes have more myristicine present. It was a wild day with a few showers on the way up Wattle track and strong wind around the lighthouse, but we saw many different bird species thanks to the girl's keen eyesight and because they were so quiet. Next time you see a Mahoe (Whitey wood), hold your ear to the trunk and listen.
Sunday 20 November 2016
Monday 14 November 2016
Sunday 6 November 2016
Kawakawa Lip Balm
Thursday 3 November 2016
Wednesday 2 November 2016
Butterfly garden
We are planting some plants in our butterfly garden at Hurupaki school with the enviro team
Wednesday 26 October 2016
Thursday 20 October 2016
The positive effects of our trapping programme! By Chelsea Traill
Measuring and sexing for data recording.
By Chelsea Traill
Mother Duck and her eight ducklings.
Monday 17 October 2016
OUR FIRST POSSUM!!
We caught our first possum today in the wetland. Miss Tyson had to work hard to get it out of the trap because it's teeth were clenched around the bar.
It was a girl and she was 76cm long. Thank you for the traps, Mr Henderson.
It was a girl and she was 76cm long. Thank you for the traps, Mr Henderson.
The planting of our butterfly garden continues
We are slowly filling up the space in our Butterfly garden.
Splitting native grasses with Jacque
On the 22nd September Jacque Knight came to show us how to split native grasses. Jacque is an Enviroschools facilitator, who grows many rare species of native plants and trees. She has kindly donated the grasses for us to plant around our wetland.
Tuesday 30 August 2016
Our new bridge!
A big thank you to Mr Darwent for building our new bridge in the Wetlands this week, and to Northland Regional Council for the funds to purchase the materials.
This bridge has been built over the top of the old one which had become unstable and therefore unsafe to use. We can now continue to explore our wetland safely.
Saturday 27 August 2016
Mosaic stepping stones 26th August
Turning the once lacklustre gardens behind Pod 13 and 11 into a new, vibrant habitat for bees and butterflies continues, with mosaic stepping stones. These will become steps which will hopefully encourage everyone to stay off the garden itself, protecting the delicate plants.
We created patterns with broken tiles and glass beads in the bottom of our trays, before mixing and pouring quick setting cement over the top.
Tane mixing the cement.
Anya's turn 
We turn up for enviro rain, hail, or shine.
We created patterns with broken tiles and glass beads in the bottom of our trays, before mixing and pouring quick setting cement over the top.
Anya's turn 
We turn up for enviro rain, hail, or shine.
Thursday 25 August 2016
Planting in our Butterfly garden continues......
A huge thanks to Jaqueline Knight for donating native hebe, hibiscus, and a rare species of kakabeak which we have planted in the native area of our bee and butterfly garden. Taylor, Gemma and Anya did a great job of planting while the boys were busy on the wheelbarrow, shifting mulch. They kept Toby very busy as he had the job of raking it out.
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