Otaihanga Domain Working Bee

History

· The Western Wetland in Otaihanga Domain was cleared and replanted with native plants by Kapiti Rotary and others in 2005 to celebrate 100 years of Rotary International

· Over the years several working bees have been held by club members to remove debris, clear weeds and replant where necessary

· 2 years ago, 3 floods covered the whole Domain. The wetland, being the lowest part of the Domain, was badly affected and many flax and cabbage trees were partly destroyed, and the area was covered in silt.

Some plants are now showing regrowth

· Many of the native trees have survived including Rimu, Kahikatea, Pukatea, a Nikau Palm, Karaka and a stand of Swamp Maire

· The Carex plants (native tussock) are thriving and are successfully filtering the water runoff from the roads, before it enters the Waikanae River

As at Saturday 23 March

· Last week a large stand of blackberry was pulled out and removed from the site by 3 club members

· Today 13 members and helpers (including the photographer) tackled the following jobs:

Cleaned and scrubbed the Rotary sign

Bashed through the undergrowth to clear 4 informal tracks down to the stream to give easier access for the council worker

Chain sawed several dead trees and branches and removed them from the site

Cleaned lichen off the trunks of the Rimu trees and cabbage trees

Cleared weeds from around the base of the native trees and left them to rot on site

Pulled old leaves off the cabbage trees and flaxes and used them to line the tracks

Pulled out the bulbous invasive weeds and removed them from the site

The future

· Working bee to be held every few years to keep the area under control