Subscribe to Paula Warren’s occasional newsletter, and keep up to date with developments at Baring Head.
Newsletter 12th August 2024
Dear members and volunteers
I suspect it is a long time since I sent out a newsletter. My computer temporarily lost the mailing list, but it is back again.
Working Bee on Thursday
The ranger and our volunteer builder are going to try to replace the chicken shed roof. Any helpers very welcome.
Meet at the Baring Head Bridge carpark 9am
- Bring lunch
- Old clothes
- Gloves if you have them
If you are planning to go, please email jo.greenman@gw.govt.nz so she knows to look for you at the carpark.
Staying at the lighthouse
At last it is possible to book the house, as the service contract has been sorted out. But in the short term bookings are limited to our members and volunteers and a few other groups. So if you are keen to try it out, email me and I’ll send you the instructions.
Fixing the second house
We have secured funding for this from a private estate, and detailed planning is now underway. The funding will be going directly to GW rather than through the Trust, which will make our Treasurer’s life much easier. The aim is to have a house that can be used by someone in a wheelchair, including turning that odd addition on the west side into a nice sunroom where someone can sit and admire the view if they aren’t very mobile.
Plants, sheep and other ecological things
I haven’t managed to get out to look at our plantings yet – each time the botanist and I have discussed the trip something has got in the way. But I’ll be having a look at some tomorrow when I’m out there for other reasons. Hopefully this summer will be kinder, as GW are planning a massive planting effort this winter.
Sheep keep turning up, but work is underway to help reduce the problem. If you are out there and see sheep on the property (other than on the private land), try to get a good photo or description (particularly of ear tags, did it have a tail, had it been recently shorn or have a long fleece and dags) and send to Jo with date, time and where they were. Same if you see goats, cattle, loose horses, or anything else our plants would hate.
We have agreed to put more funding into the rare plants work to supplement the GW funding, so I’ll be discussing with Matt what might be the most useful focus for the next couple of years. A lot of our older plantings are now big enough to provide some shelter for species that don’t much like wind and salt, so we’ll also be talking about bringing in species that aren’t rare in the usual sense of the word but are missing at Baring Head, or are particularly important for invertebrates.
Paula Warren
Chair
Friends of Baring Head