Hello everyone, Yes it is getting close to our annual October bird count. Thank you to everyone who participated last year. What a wonderful time we had counting the different types of bird song in Okura Bush. Welcome to the new volunteers. We look forward to meeting you at our training session. We are very fortunate to have Sarah Wells…
2016 AGM 7th August Speaker Stephen King
Annual General Meeting – 3pm Sunday 7 August 2016 Okura Hall, Okura River Rd Please join us for afternoon tea and meet our special guest Stephen King, who speaks on “The Future Of Kauri”.
Hibiscusmatters: Rats Knocked Down at Okura
In the June 15th issue of Hibiscusmatters Page 25: Members of the Friends of Okura Bush environmental group celebrate the cull of 23 rats in their Knock Down event. Nick Morgan measured and weighed each rat to determine the prize-winners. These Ka Mate traps, designed in Marlborough, are already producing good results in Okura Bush. A total of 60 of…
Autumn 2016 Newsletter
FOOB and the Auckland Council Unitary Plan This summer a most pressing issue facing our fragile bush and its wildlife has occupied much of your executives time. On the northern boundary Weiti Station, at present a wilderness of exotic and invasive weeds has been approved as the site of at least 1200 houses. The fate of the green fields on…
Torbay Newsletter: Threatened Kauri under attack from DOC shortcuts
In the June 2016 Torbay Newsletter, page 11 : Threatened Kauri under attack from DOC shortcuts Friends of Okura Bush spokesperson Geoff Reid says: “We have witnessed destruction caused by contractors hired by DOC to build tracks in the past. Inadequate design, and lack of professional supervision has resulted in many tree deaths in this coastal gem”
Hibiscus Matters: Conservationists clash over kauri dieback protection
A report on FOOB’s opposition to DOC’s proposed use of Geoweb to repair the track is on page three of the June 1st Hibiscus Matters newspaper. Read the full article here: Conservationists clash over kauri dieback protection
Stuff: Kauri dieback solution upsets residents
On Stuff today: Kauri dieback solution upsets residents An Auckland advocacy group is shocked by plans to lay plastic on a popular walkway. Friends of Okura Bush has been campaigning for four years for a boardwalk track but the Conservation Department (DOC) plans to install geoweb; a strong plastic filled with bark and covered with gravel. Co-ordinator Geoff Reid was…
Threatened kauri under attack from DOC shortcuts
MEDIA RELEASE: The Department of Conservation (DOC) plans to go ahead with track building shortcuts that experts and locals say will increase pressure on kauri trees already at risk of kauri dieback, a deadly root infection. DOC is rolling out work in the upper North Island for 750kms of kauri forest tracks. The proposal in the Okura Forest Scenic Reserve, just south of the Whangaparaoa Peninsula,…
Geoweb track no good for kauri
Friends of Okura Bush (FOOB) are concerned that the planned upgrade of the walkway by the Department of Conservation (DOC) will be detrimental to the health of the Okura Bush Scenic Reserve. Furthermore, the same engineering is to be applied to all track upgrades across New Zealand and is likely to lead to long-term damage to forests across the country.…
Track Assessment by Stephen King
At the Request of ‘Friends of Okura Bush’ I conducted a field inspection of the current track in March 2016 to assess issues and required improvements to ensure adequate protection of forest canopy trees. The inspection took place with Geoffrey and Lezette Reid and with a copy of currently proposed treatments supplied to them by the Department of Conservation.
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