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2022 has been a challenging year in many ways, but despite the challenges of covid and flooding, the lagoon is doing wonderfully. The Wetland Warriors (the Wednesday and Thursday volunteers) do an amazing job with the power of work that they get through. The warriors undertake the bulk of the ongoing maintenance work at the lagoon. Noticing the increasing repairs required for the ride-on lawnmower, one of the Warriors rallied around the community and raised all the funds to purchase a new zero-turn mower. Wetland Warriors will start back on the 11th of January in the new year.
The format for the Sunday working bees changed this year from every 6 weeks to every second Sunday of the month (excluding December and January), this has worked well and will continue next year. The last planting session for the year was a quick flash mob planting, all the Sunday volunteers popped into one area, planted hard for 30 minutes and then moved off into different jobs and areas. One of the nice things noted from the Sunday group is that one volunteer who came to a working bee and planted a Kahikatea goes out to the lagoon and weeds around it. It is nice to see the ongoing connection to the area.
Te Whanau Hou Grovetown Lagoon is working on weed and pest eradication, these programs are progressing well. More weeds will be tackled over Summer, targeting willow and yellow flag iris. The dedicated animal pest control team are checking the traps every weekend and have caught over 100 rats in the last 12 months, along with 21 mustelids.
The draft management plan for the lagoon is under construction and will be notified next year for community consultation. Although the work is not complete, I would like to thank the Executive/Foundation members for coming together and working on the draft plan. The aim of the management plan is to protect the area as a reserve for the future.
A big thank you to our sponsors, Isaac Conservation and Wildlife Trust, Simcox Construction and Dog Point Vineyard. Our sponsors contribute to the project in many ways, sharing and enhancing the journey.
Finally, a big shout out to the working group, these are the volunteers that meet every six weeks. The working group does the planning and coordination for many of the activities discussed above.
Te Whanau Hou (Grovetown Lagoon) means a new family. We are very lucky to have such a great whanau, Merry Christmas everyone.
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