Thanks to Chris Wadsworth and Keith Paine, secondary school
mathematics teachers with a passion for New Zealand’s native flora and
fauna, further headway has been made in the valley. Together they
spent 20 volunteer hours clearing and bagging Tradescantia and other
weeds. They also spent another 1 1/2 hours checking and clearing the
traps, adding 10 rats and 2 mice to our total on the Mt Pleasant side
of the valley.

Four years ago John and Nola Harvey offered to propagate some
Panakenake and this plant completely took over their vegetable garden.
We met on 24 April to replant it by the stream edges. John sliced the
plant into pieces, including a decent amount of soil. It was then
rolled, transferred into bags and driven to the bottom of Mt Pleasant
Drive where it was transported to the valley in shopping bags and
backpacks – rather back breaking work! It is hoped this plant will
become established in the cleared areas of the stream.