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Over the past 2 months Society members and volunteers have taken part in several successful working bees to tackle some of the valley’s most persistent invasive weeds. Our main targets have included moth plant, climbing asparagus, tobacco plant, jasmine, and ginger.

We’ve continued our efforts with Fiona Francis in her long-running battle against tobacco plant on Cape Rodney Road.  Fiona, Anita Erikson, Chris Wadsworth, Phil Jones and others assisted the Valhalla team with its weed control programme. Another rewarding day was spent with Chris Erikson tackling a substantial infestation of moth plant along Tenetahi Road.

Volunteers Richard Taylor and Martin Turner joined us to work along the Bullock Track and behind the Brown Cottage, focusing on jasmine and ginger. Chris Wadsworth, Keith Paine and Fiona Francis joined forces with Marco Alonso and Diana Parker to clear a large area of climbing asparagus and ginger.

Steven Hyde has been tackling agapanthus around his property. Niklas Erikson has been waging war on an established infestation of ginger and has highlighted how easily this invasive weed can spread through native bush before its impact becomes obvious.

The consensus among our volunteers is that weeding is surprisingly therapeutic. There is something very satisfying about taking out your frustrations on these pervasive invaders while knowing you’re helping to restore the health of the forest.  When you consider the well-documented benefits of “forest bathing” (immersing yourself in the sights, sounds, and fresh air of the bush), a working bee becomes good for both the environment and your own well-being.

Fiona Francis agrees that weeding is more fun in pairs. It’s also safer, particularly on steep terrain that becomes slippery after heavy rainfall.

Fiona has spent more than 12 years caring for bush areas planted with Trees for Survival and was concerned about several tobacco trees threatening the regenerating natives. One particularly large tree, visible from her kitchen window, had become impossible to ignore.

On Monday 11 May, we headed off on Fiona’s trusty quad bike armed with an electric chainsaw and herbicide gel. Along the edge of the creek we discovered hundreds of tobacco tree seedlings, as well as smilax (bridal veil creeper), mothplant, privet, loquat and masses of climbing asparagus.

Encouragingly, amongst all these weeds were thriving native seedlings including kahikatea, putaputaweta, kotukutuku, lacebark, mapou and plenty of manuka.

More than four and a half hours later, after plenty of cutting, pulling and scrambling through slippery terrain, we finally reached the larger tobacco trees. Unfortunately, the chainsaw lost its chain before we could finish the job, but we managed to ringbark a couple of the worst offenders before heading home.

We’ve already planned our next weeding expedition and agree that restoration work is always easier, and much more enjoyable, with a weeding buddy.

Despite a determined summer-long effort to hunt down and remove flowering mothplant before it could turn to seed, this persistent weed has well and truly earned its title as the Master of Disguise. A surprising number of vines slipped under the radar and, with a wet, humid summer and autumn providing near-perfect growing conditions, they’ve flourished and pods are popping up everywhere.

In some cases, the scale of the problem has been overwhelming. Several vines were discovered climbing more than 30 metres high into a towering totara tree, placing their pods frustratingly out of reach. An earlier attempt to tackle these on Sunday, 27 April highlighted just how challenging the task would be.

On Sunday, 3 May, we joined forces with members of the Meek family.  Len, Jo, Sarah, David and Ezekiel helped to tackle a particularly large infestation. Two and a half hours of determined effort saw us pulling vines out by the roots, combing through dense growth, and gathering pod after pod until a large weed sack was filled to the brim. With stubborn determination, gentle tugging, and some effective use of long-handled poles, we managed to dislodge some of the higher pods.

The effort didn’t stop there. On Monday, 4 May, we joined Kaye Meuller and spent another two and a half hours tracking down and removing more pods.

And just when we thought we could switch off for the week, guess what we spotted lining the borders of the Southern motorway?! 

It is with sadness that we farewell two highly valued conservation stalwarts, Neil Sutherland and Sheryl Corbett, who are retiring from conservation work in Leigh and relocating to Warkworth. For more than 19 years they have made a significant and lasting contribution to a wide range of local conservation initiatives in the Leigh area.

Sheryl and Neil established the Leigh Coastal Care Group  (since renamed the Coastal Restoration Group) as a project of the Warkworth branch of Forest and Bird Society.  They had been involved in Forest and Bird for many years and Neil served as chair of the North Shore branch. They were honoured by Forest and Bird with the Old Blue award a few years ago.  They played a key role in organising regular working bees to address high-density weed infestations in coastal areas around Leigh.  As well as carrying out pest plant control, they have both been committed trapping volunteers and street coordinators for Pest Free Leigh and have undertaken pest control and monitoring work for the Forest and Bird Leigh Penguin Project.

Neil and Sheryl were consistently among the first to volunteer at Leigh Harbour Valley Society working bees.   They are widely respected for their extensive knowledge of coastal weeds and restoration practices. Their dedication, reliability, and generosity in sharing their expertise have been of immense value to the community.

Their presence will be really missed by all those who have had the pleasure of working with them, and we are extremely grateful for the many years of time, effort, and passion they have given. 

We wish Neil and Sheryl every happiness in their new home and have no doubt they will continue to make a positive impact in conservation efforts in the Warkworth area.

Forest Geckos

We’ve had some exciting wildlife sightings recently on Mt Pleasant Drive. Two Forest Geckos have been spotted in different locations in less than a week. We managed to photograph one of them, although the other quickly disappeared into the foliage before we could get a picture.

According to ecologist Virginia Moreno from Forest Bridge Trust, this is very encouraging news. Despite their name, the Common Forest Gecko is actually rarely seen. Their excellent camouflage and secretive habits mean they can easily go unnoticed.

Virginia explained that these sightings suggest they are part of a healthy local population and that Forest Geckos also show strong site fidelity, so there is a good chance we may see them again in the same area if we keep looking. However, their camouflage makes them remarkably easy to miss.

For those interested in identification, Forest Geckos can often be distinguished from Pacific Geckos by their yellow (rather than pink) mouth colour and the series of ‘W’-shaped markings along their backs, rather than the more blotched pattern typical of Pacific Geckos.

As Chris Floyd from QEII National Trust commented, sightings like this are a wonderful reward for the many years of pest control work in the area. For small, vulnerable species such as geckos, it can take many years of sustained predator control before populations recover enough to become visible again.

It’s a great reminder that persistence pays off and that all the trapping and baiting carried out over the years is helping native wildlife quietly return.

February has been a busy month for the team, with plenty of trapping, baiting and weed control underway. A particular focus has been tackling climbing asparagus and mothplant, both of which are quick to take advantage of the warm summer conditions.
Encouragingly, all the signs suggest that pest numbers are being well controlled. One of the most noticeable changes has been the increase in birdsong around the valley. There are also some smaller but equally positive clues. In a few areas, piles of karaka fruit are now sitting undisturbed beneath the trees — something that rarely happens when rat numbers are high. Even the weed bags have been teeming with weta, another good indicator that predators are being kept in check.
We had planned to launch our German wasp control programme in February. However, after a relatively cool, wet summer, the numbers of protein-seeking wasps have been much lower than usual. Instead, we will focus on getting the control lines established so everything is in place ahead of the next wasp season.
For now, the quieter bush and the growing chorus of birdsong are encouraging signs that the work being done is making a real difference.

On Friday 3 and Saturday 4 October, we had a very productive couple of days when Florence Nathan contributed an impressive 10 hours of voluntary restoration work as part of the William Pike Challenge.

On Friday afternoon, Florence spent two hours checking and rebaiting traps along Mt Pleasant Drive and Cape Rodney Road. Only one rat had been caught in a DOC200.

Saturday was a full and busy day. Florence helped establish new bait and trap lines, checking and rebaiting the Valhalla bait stations and setting up rat boxes with T-Rex traps in five new locations. Traps and bait stations were also distributed around a new property to extend existing trap lines, and Florence helped prepare traps and stations for placement on another site.

In the afternoon, Florence spent three and a half hours clearing Japanese honeysuckle along Mt Pleasant Drive;  in the process saving several established trees that were being strangled by this invasive vine. She then planted a dozen ti kouka (cabbage trees). To finish the day, she was introduced to a local weed hotspot and learned to identify numerous pest plants.

Florence proved to be an enthusiastic, capable, and hardworking volunteer and a great trapping and weeding companion. She probably would have continued until dusk if she hadn’t been encouraged to stop. The best news is that she loved the trapping and weeding work and is keen to volunteer again.

Thanks, Florence, for all your hard work!