An excited and enthusiastic group of Bluff schoolchildren came to the Nursery and Education Centre on Tuesday 13 February. After checking out the orchard and its ripening apples and the worm farm, they all helped out with some nursery work “potting” small cabbage tree seedlings and learning about tui and bellbirds liking cabbage tree flowers and berries. The group then had some kai, worked in teams to do the big jigsaws and then went for a “bush walk” around the pond tracks. Using their senses of touch, smell, sight and hearing they enjoyed doing the sensory scavenger hunt. Back at the nursery the children used up any excess energy racing around the circles in the paddock and finding their special native plant at the end of the circles.
Chris
Posted: 15 February 2018
Come along and forage for wild foods with Maggie and Chris on Wednesday 7 March 2018, 6.30pm. Park at 183 Grant Road carpark and we will meet you there. No need to book but bring along $5 to learn about wild foods and sample some of the foraged delights on offer.
Chris
Posted: 2 February 2018
Kereru on wineberry today collecting seed. Wineberry is one of the fleshy fruited seeds that is difficult to collect - if the kereru find it first! It’s early this year. From Friday onwards we will be collecting available seed - red tussock has already been collected, Carex secta, toe toe and wineberry will be next. Meanwhile, the pond is at its lowest level ever. See you Friday.
Chris
Posted: 24 January 2018
The Nursery will be open for volunteers on Friday mornings from Friday 5 January 2018. There will be potting, moving plants around, weeding, watering, track work to name but a few jobs to be done.
Chris
Posted: 4 January 2018
How do birds feed? How do they catch the insects, sip the nectar and dig for huhu grubs? How do birds walk, or sit in trees, or swim? How on earth do birds build an intricately woven nest with only a beak and feet?! We spent the afternoon really looking at the parts of our NZ native birds that make them suited to their habitat – by looking closely at their different beaks, feet and nests.
BEAKS: We pretended to be different kinds of native NZ birds by using tongs, chopsticks, a paint brush and pliers and experimenting on how birds feed in different types of habitats. We had a river bed, the forest floor, a pond, a rotting tree log, kowhai flowers and tussock lands, and we were amazed at the adaptations that birds have – they are pretty clever as to how they have evolved and adapted!
FEET: We guessed whose feet were whose – there was really good answering – I was impressed! We counted claws and toes, noticed if they were webbed or not and looked at how big their claws were!
NESTS: We headed to the pond and collected the types of materials that we thought birds would use to build a nest and then we spent time building a nest. We then looked at actual nests – and we immediately had a new found appreciation for how skilful birds are at weaving those nests that are very intricate. We also pondered over different types of nests, and how they are not all the same! What wondrous adaptations birds have made in different environments.
Big thanks to Chris and Brian at the Southland Community Nursery. We have held a number of Kiwi Conservation Club events at the nursery during 2017. It is an awesome venue, offering us an inside sheltered building (when needed!) surrounded by nature’s taonga.
Happy Holidays to all you KCC members and enjoy being out there in nature exploring.
Bronwyn, KCC Coordinator Southland
Posted: 17 December 2017
