Next month will be a busy time at Project Rameka. Come and join us if you can spare the time!

Test and Tickle

On Sunday 13 November we will be holding a ‘Test and Tickle Up’ work party on Great Expectations. The goal is to identify the spots that are currently unrideable for Grade 2 riders and fix them.

So if you are a Grade 2 rider, please come along and test the track for us, then help us make it work for you!

Meet at the top of Great Expectations, at 10am on Sunday.

We will have some tools, and some food for a picnic lunch.

Where the Hell are We?

During the week of the 14-18^th November, Marie and Bronnie will be working with US interns Jane and Charlotte to paint new signs – one for every track intersection in the project. These will be popping up to help visitors know where they are heading.

To the Scrub Face

On Wednesday afternoon, 16^th November, Jonathan and Martin will be leading a work party to uncover more of the historic Rameka Track. We will meet at the Totara Carpark at 1pm, and head up the escarpment to the Scrub Face. It’s a fair walk in now, and the views are impressive.

The Odyssey

We are also on the lookout for a couple of Trail Pixies to give some TLC to The Odyssey. It shouldn’t take much – just a bit of vege trimming, and perhaps removing the odd rut here and there. If you are able to spare the time, please contact Jonathan (jonathan@kennett.co.nz) or Martin at the Quiet Revolution Cycle Shop.

Suck it Up

A heartfelt salute to all those that planted trees last August (and previous years). They are growing incredibly well, and sucking up carbon dioxide in the process. Just a reminder that Good S@#T Happens when good people make it happen.

Pedal On!

Jonathan Kennett

P.S. Thanks to all the people who have been beavering away on the tracks over the last few months!

One of the key goals of the Rameka Carbon Forest is to combat climate change by sequestering carbon dioxide. The best tool we have available to us for long-term carbon sequestration is a tree. They self replicate and live for a long time; some of the ones we planted live up to 700 years! So, on the 20-21 August 2016 and the following weeks we planted over 800 trees.

Thank you to everyone that came out to help! We had planters from Golden Bay, Wellington and Nelson. Then, after we left DOC donated 70 more red beech trees and 50 more rata that were planted by Cath Kelly, Peggy Leyland, and Matt.

The trees planted this year were fundraised by Ginny Wood as part of her epic cycle ride, The Tour Aotearoa! These were no ordinary trees; many were high quality trees with several years of growth to give them a head start to beat out the harsh grass, wind, and possible animal browsing. Of the 800+ trees there were pioneers species such as kohuhu, wineberry, akeake, tarata, mahoe, and five finger that will shade out grass and weeds and provide shelter for the climax species. No planting is complete without getting some climax species like rimu, miro, totara, and rata in the ground. We also planted beech, kaka beak, flax, hinau, and grisilinia to increase the biodiversity and provide food and shelter for native wildlife.

The next big project is the bridge over Rameka Creek. We are still fundraising on Give-a-Little, which closes 1 November.

Trapping

Many thanks to Fil and Albie Burgers, Paul Kilgour and Andrew McLellan for their great work on the trap line. Trapping rats and stoats is a matter of survival for the native birds at Rameka. Over the last 12 months, they have caught 19 stoats and 30 rats.

This has provided a much better environment for birds, and we can now confirm that there is a family of weka resident at Project Rameka!

General Pest Control

If you’ve been wondering why you hardly ever see a possum at Project Rameka anymore, that is because Matt Shoult fills possum bait stations twice a year. The native plant and animal species are really thriving as a result. The growth is phenomenal.

Matt has also teamed up with Project Devine to wipe out some huge infestations of banana passionfruit on the new block of land. It’s scary how much forest area those vines can smother.

Matt has also been fast to react to reports of wild goats and pigs, keeping numbers as low as realistically possible. (15 and 19 down respectively)  Thanks Matt.